Deported over a speeding ticket? Dozens of US students’ visas abruptly revoked
This article is more than 8 months old
Nearly 40 students report canceled visas over minor infractions as Trump intensifies crackdown on universities
Lisa was eating takeout at a friend’s place when the email from her university landed. She clicked into her inbox and skimmed the message:
“ISS [International Student Services] is writing to inform you that your SEVIS record was terminated …”
The wording felt unfamiliar. She read it again, but it still sounded like a scam – absurd and unreal.
Lisa is an international student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, just one month away from graduation. She asked to use a pseudonym due to concerns about retaliation and an ongoing legal case.
Before going to bed, she found someone posted a similar notice on social media. It was through these posts that Lisa understood what the email had actually meant: with her Student and Exchange Visitor Information System record terminated, she was now considered out of status in the US. Staying could mean violating immigration laws.
The Department of Homeland Security maintains the Sevis database that tracks international students and scholars on F, M and J visas. Once a Sevis record is terminated, a student’s legal status becomes immediately invalid. They must either leave the US within the grace period, typically 15 days, or take steps to restore their status. Otherwise, they risk deportation and future visa restrictions.
She dug through comment sections. Joined group chats. Searched for patterns. One emerged: most of the affected students had been fingerprinted. Some had been cited for non-criminal offenses, but the messages they received said they had criminal records.
That’s when she remembered: a year ago, she was driving home when she got two tickets: one for speeding and another for failing to stop. She hadn’t seen the police car behind her until it was too late. To get the charges dismissed, she showed up in court, where she was fingerprinted.
Lisa is one of several students across states who found their legal status revoked by the US government on 4 April, without prior notice or clear explanation. University statements show that at least 39 students have been affected, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, Stanford, Ohio State, the University of Tennessee, the University of Kentucky, Minnesota State University and the University of Oregon.
An online self-reported data sheet created by affected students suggests the issue may be more widespread. Students from 50 universities reported their visas were canceled around 4 April, with many noting that they had prior records, some limited to citations or non-criminal offenses.
This secret wave of revocation came a few days after the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, announced the revocation of 300 or more student visas. “We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas,” he said at a news conference on 27 March, referring to students he described as national security threats.
Lisa’s university had included a screenshot of her Sevis record in the message. Termination was logged on 4 April by a system administrator, with a note: “Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked.”
Shenqi Cai, a California immigration attorney and managing attorney at Lashine Law, said she got the first call from a student on 3 April. “At the time, we thought it was a one-off. It seemed strange.”
But by Friday, more cases kept coming in. She contacted designated school officials at several partner universities and confirmed that the terminations were visible in the Sevis system.
Cai said this round of Sevis terminations appeared to be unprecedented. “Students weren’t given any chance to explain their situation. As long as the system flagged them, what we believe is a kind of criminal screening trigger, they were terminated under one broad directive.”
Based on the information collected so far, Cai said about 90% of the affected students had been fingerprinted. But she explained that the criteria used to flag students can vary by state. “Each state defines these triggers differently. The thresholds are inconsistent. A student may be arrested in one state, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be convicted, because the power to decide guilt or innocence lies with the judge.”
David, a Chinese student who completed his undergraduate degree, was immediately unable to continue working. He requested a pseudonym due to fears of retaliation and an ongoing legal case.
In 2024, David was reported to police after a verbal argument with his partner. When officers arrived, they were still arguing, but there was no physical contact, he said. Because of a language barrier, his partner couldn’t clearly explain what had happened. David was detained overnight and later ordered to appear in court.
“My partner wrote a statement to the prosecutor explaining it wasn’t domestic violence,” he said. The charge was eventually dropped. Court records show the case was dismissed with prejudice, and the judge ordered the arrest record and biometric data to be destroyed.
Four months later, David received a Sevis termination notice.
Unlike enrolled F-1 students, David is working under optional practical training, a work authorization linked to the Sevis system. Once a Sevis record is terminated, that authorization ends and is nearly impossible to recover.
David was nearing the end of his first year of employment when he got the notice on Friday. He scheduled a lunch meeting with his manager, who said the company would try to help him relocate to Canada. But because the termination took effect immediately, he was subjected to the 15-day departure rule.
“I told my family, and they felt just as powerless,” he said. “But we don’t come from wealth, and there’s not a lot they can do.”
Bill is facing the same dilemma. He graduated in December 2024 and is currently job-hunting. He asked not to use his real name due to a pending case.
In early 2025, Bill hit another car while making a turn. At the time, his driver’s license had just expired. Police cited him for driving with an expired license. After renewing it, he followed the instructions and appeared in court.
“I went with a temporary license. The court staff were friendly,” he said. “One even joked, ‘This is no big deal, handsome,’ while taking my fingerprints and photos. It felt like a scene out of a movie.”skip past newsletter promotion
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His initial appearance only involved ID verification. When he asked if the hearing could be held that day, a staff member told him it was scheduled for May and suggested he come back then.
“I thought it was fine. My license was updated, I just had to show up again.” But on 3 April, he suddenly received a notice from the school that his Sevis record had been terminated.
Now, Bill has no idea what to do. Legally, he should leave the country immediately, but his case is still open and he’s required to appear in court in May. He doesn’t know whether showing up would put him at risk of detention.
On 4 April, he met with his university’s international office. Staff there were willing to help, he said, but had few tools. They asked him to write a personal statement, which they promised to pass along to university leadership. The only formal support offered was a referral to a discounted lawyer – $150 an hour.
“The dust of history falls on me, and it becomes a mountain. That’s all there is to it,” he said.
By Sunday evening, the panic had spread. Three hundred students joined a Zoom info session hosted by Brad Banias, a federal court immigration litigator and former justice department trial attorney. Questions poured into the chat box: “Should we leave our apartments right now in case ICE shows up?” “Will an unpaid parking ticket be a problem?”
Banias called the terminations a political move, not a legal one. “It makes me angry to see 19-year-olds just trying to study, and suddenly a parking ticket they didn’t even know about shows up on a criminal background check,” he said. “Don’t let them convince you it’s reasonable to leave the country over a parking ticket.”
For Lisa, the future was just starting to take shape. She is about to graduate in one month, with a job offer and grad school acceptance. But now, she said she wasn’t even sure if she should go to class on Monday.
Back in April 2024, she was pulled over in Madison for speeding. She hadn’t noticed the patrol car behind her right away, and by the time she stopped, two officers approached. One told her not to worry – it was her first offense, and all she needed to do was pay the fine. But the other issued two citations: one for speeding, the other for failing to stop.
They told her it was just a miscommunication, something she could clear up in court.
But that never really happened.
“My first court date was just for ID,” she said. “They fingerprinted me, took a photo, measured my height. The judge barely said anything. No hearing, just a new court date.”
She asked if the case could be resolved sooner and was told to schedule an online meeting. She did. During that meeting, the case was dropped. No record. They asked if she accepted. She said yes.
Everything after that went smoothly: her work visa was approved, the company background checks cleared, and she had no trouble leaving and re-entering the country. She thought it was behind her.
Then the email came.
“I don’t know if I’m still allowed to graduate,” she said. “If I don’t get my degree, does the grad school still take me? Does the company push back the offer? Worst case, I don’t graduate. I go home and start college again. Four more years. And then what?”
This article was amended on 9 April 2025. The Chinese student David received a Sevis termination notice four months after charges against him were dropped, not three years later as stated in an earlier version.
Sandra Doorley announces retirement after public censure over traffic stop
Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley announced she will retire at the end of August.
Less than a month after the state Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct determined that Doorley should be publicly censured for failing to comply with the April 2024 traffic stop, along with other misconduct, the county’s top prosecutor announced that she will be stepping down.
Doorley announced her decision on Friday, Aug. 1, noting that she would officially retire and leave the office at the end of the month – on Aug. 31.
She described the decision to leave her post as “bittersweet.”
“This decision did not come easily,” she said in her resignation letter to the residents of Monroe County. “Serving you has been the greatest honor of my life.” She also noted that the job, at its core, was never about headlines or accolades. It was always about the victims.
“The people of Monroe County have seen me at my best and worst,” she wrote in the letter. “And even when I’ve made mistakes, you never stopped holding me accountable or giving me grace.”
Traffic stop in Webster, NY: What happened?
Doorley was driving to her house in Webster on April 22, 2024 and traveling about 20 miles per hour above the posted speed limit when Officer Cameron Crisafulli raised his lights and siren on Phillips Road, about half a mile from her house. Doorley did not pull over, but instead drove to her home.
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She pulled into her driveway and confronted Crisafulli, cursing at him and retreating into her garage despite his orders not to. She called Webster Police Chief Dennis Kohlmeier three times during the interaction in an attempt to have him intervene.
During the first call, according to Kohlmeier, she told him to “tell your officer to stop (expletive) following me.”
When Doorley eventually accepted the ticket from Crisafulli, she said “That’s fine, I’ll take care of it, since I’ll be prosecuting myself.”
Video of encounter surfaces
After word of body-worn camera footage began to circulate, Doorley issued a deceptive public statement that minimized her actions during the traffic stop. She further apologized during a press tour after the video became public, but not before the incident received national condemnation.
The fine for the speeding ticket was $183. She was not further prosecuted but several investigations followed, including that of state Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct. Monroe County’s Office of Public Integrity determined that Doorley’s profane chastisement of a Webster police officer was indefensible and could encourage others to disobey directions from police. The office determined last summer that she breached several of the county’s ethic standards.
Last month, the 11-member state Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct issued its report following the agency’s investigation into the encounter which gained national attention. Doorley cooperated with the investigation and, according to the commission, “acknowledged that her misconduct warranted public censure.”
In its 13-page report, the commission stated that Doorley testified under oath “that she will be vacating her position as district attorney.”
Who is Sandra Doorley?
Doorley, 62, is the first woman to serve as Monroe County’s District Attorney. She was elected to the top role in November 2011 and took office in January 2012. She was re-elected to three more four-year terms as DA – most recently in 2023 when she ran unopposed. Her current term runs through 2027.
While she first ran on a Democratic platform, Doorley switched to the Republican Party in 2015. Doorley started working at the DA’s Office in 1992.
Doorley served as president of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York in 2020. She lives in Webster with her husband and a Goldendoodle named Finn. She has two daughters.
Since the incident last year, the pair sold their Webster home, according to real estate and county records. Her husband moved to South Carolina where the couple purchased a house earlier this year, something she also said to the Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct during her deposition in March.
Doorley’s retirement letter
Here is Doorley’s full retirement letter:
To the Residents of Monroe County,This letter is bittersweet. After 33 years in the District Attorney’s Office, including the past thirteen as your elected District Attorney, I will be retiring on August 31, 2025. This decision did not come easily. Serving you has been the greatest honor of my life. But as I recently turned 62, I know that this is the right time for me, for my family, and for all of you.
There are no words strong enough to express my gratitude other than, thank you. You trusted me with this position four times. Each term brought both successes and tribulations, from restructuring the office after my first electionto navigating the opioid crisis, a global pandemic, and criminal justice reform. Through it all, even in the most difficult moments, I have given you everything I have.
This community has also given me everything in return. Before I was District Attorney, I spent 20 years as an Assistant District Attorney. During my time in this office, I met my husband, raised my daughters, lost my parents, battledcancer, and found my purpose. The people of Monroe County have seen me at my best and worst. And even when I’ve made mistakes, you never stopped holding me accountable or giving me grace.
That’s why, as I reflect on this journey, I want to share a few moments that have never left me.
I was hired by District Attorney Howard Relin and began my career in the Local Courts Bureau under Judge Thomas Rainbow Morse, a mentor who taught me what it means to be a prosecutor. I tried dozens of misdemeanor jury trials before moving to felonies, and ultimately worked in most of the felony bureaus. In 2004, I joined the leadership team at the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, becoming the Chief of the Felony DWI Bureau. I then went on to serve as the Deputy Chief of the Major Felony Bureau, the Second Assistant District Attorney, the First Assistant District Attorney, and eventually earning your trust as the elected District Attorney of Monroe County.
But my passion has always lived in the courtroom… standing beside victims and being their voice when they no longer could.
I still remember Alexandra Kogut, a SUNY Brockport freshman murdered by Clayton Whittemore. I remember her family’s strength, and the weight of every decision in that courtroom. As clear as day, I can picture the crime scene. I remember the look on Clayton Whittemore’s face as he claimed extreme emotional disturbance. We secured a murder conviction not just for Alex, but for every young person contemplating escape from an abusive and violent relationship.
I remember Charlotte Lahr, a mother and business owner who was murdered while protecting her store. I think of her daughters and the community who mourned her. Her killer, a parolee named Kevin Quander, is serving 40 years to life. I sincerely hope that this murderer will never again be afforded to see the light of day outside the New York State Department of Corrections.
I think of Mary Simzer, a woman who struggled with addiction and hardship but was still entitled to dignity, to safety, and to justice. Her murderer, Ronald Lagasse, committed unspeakable crimes. Holding him accountable was among the most important prosecutions of my career.
And then there was Wendy Jerome. Just 14 years old when she was murdered on Thanksgiving Day, 1984. Thanks to modern DNA technology, her killer was identified 36 years later. I will never forget the moment her family, who had waited so long, finally got the answers they deserved. I was honored to secure a guilty verdict in what turned out to be the first trial using familial DNA searching in New York State. I have a special place in my heart for cold case victims and their families. I hope that other families who are awaiting news on their loved one’s cases never lose hope for justice.
There are victims who are near and dear to my heart, and their families are always in my thoughts. Stephanie Kupchynsky, Andrew Attinasi, Christine Sevilla, Karen Turtu, Lisa Kuligowski, Patricia Daggett, Lachelle Weaver, Matthew Watters, and Cathleen Krauseneck, these are some of the victims who I remember, not just because of their deaths, but because of the impact they had during their lives and their amazing families. Their loved ones showed up to every court appearance, not just seeking justice, but fueling our fight with their advocacy. I will never forget these victims, and I continue to hold a deep, lasting bond with the families who shared their stories and their strength.
Our pursuit of justice could not have been possible without law enforcement. I am profoundly grateful to the town and village police departments, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Police, and especially the Rochester Police Department. I have worked shoulder-to-shoulder with RPD throughout my career, and I can say without hesitation that its officers are among the finest in the country. I have worked with officers, support staff, and technicians from this department closely for my entire career. I am continuously impressed by this police department and their commitment to protect and serve. This is why these cases involving RPD officers cut especially deep.
In 2014, Officer Daryl Pierson was killed in the line of duty. I will never forget that call. His death devastated our community and served as a painful reminder that the dangers officers face are not abstract. Daryl was a father, a husband, a friend. And I was proud to ensure his killer, Thomas Johnson III, will never walk free again. I think about Officer Pierson and his family often.
Officer Dennison Wright and I go back to the days when I was an Assistant District Attorney and Denny was a paralegal in Monroe County District Attorney’s Office. Denny went on to become a career Rochester Police Officer and I was so proud. In 2021, he was brutally attacked and stabbed during a domestic incident call. He survived, but lost his sight. Keith Williams was convicted of Attempted Aggravated Murder and sentenced to 40 years to Life in the New York State Department of Corrections. And to this day, Denny says he would do it all over again. That is the kind of person he is, the kind of hero I am proud to call a friend.
Only months following the trial against Keith Williams, another call. Two officers shot. I spent that night in the hospital, the night Rochester Police Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz was killed. I was outraged. As a community, we said never again, but there I was putting witnesses into grand jury for another RPD Officer killed in the line of duty. Preparing for that trial against his killer was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but the verdict brought justice. Kelvin Vickers was convicted for the Aggravated Murder of Officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz, the Attempted Aggravated Murder of Officer Sino Seng, and additional murder and violent felony convictions for the murders of Richard Collinge and MyJel Rand. This was for the Rochester Police Department, the community, and for Tony’s many friends and loving family, especially his widow and my dear friend, Lynn Mazurkiewicz.
There are so many more names. So many victims I still carry with me. Because this job, at its core, was never about headlines or accolades. It was always about them.
I’m proud of the reforms we implemented: Gun Court, GIVE, the Non-Fatal Shooting Task Force, the Monroe County Heroin Taskforce, the Conviction Integrity Unit, the Measures for Justice public facing dashboard, expanded economic crime units, and our relentless focus on public integrity. But policies mean little without people. I was privileged to serve alongside so many exceptional professionals, fellow prosecutors, investigators, victim advocates, and administrative staff. You were my second family.
To our community leaders, law enforcement partners, and community advocates, thank you for inspiring me with your courage and resolve.
And finally, to my family. I could not have done this without you. My late parents instilled in me the values that shaped my path. My husband, steady and supportive, stepped in at home every time I was called away. And my daughters, you are my heart. I hoped to inspire you. Instead, you inspire me. You make me proud every day.
To the people of Monroe County, thank you. For your faith, your candor, your partnership. I leave this office with a full heart, and with the hope that my service made a difference.
With deepest gratitude,Sandra
What’s next?
A new district attorney will be appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul at a later date. That interim district attorney would to serve until an election is held next year.
