USC student lost visa, but didn’t commit a crime. He’s suing Trump administration
Matthew Ariwoola came to the United States to study chemistry at the University of South Carolina. He was supposed to graduate in December.
But the Nigerian citizen was informed earlier this month that his visa had been abruptly terminated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Because he was under the threat of arrest and deportation, the university advised him to stop his work and self-deport, just months away from earning his degree. Now, he’s suing the federal government, claiming it violated his constitutionally right to due process.
International students enter the country on F-1 student visas, and their status is monitored through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. According to the ACLU of South Carolina, which is representing Ariwoola in the case, students with F-1 status are typically allowed to stay in the U.S. as long as they continue to meet requirements.
Ariwoola, 32, began his doctorate studies in 2021. He teaches undergraduate chemistry courses and studies ways to make medications more effective.
The lawsuit, filed April 18, says that he had renewed his F-1 student visa in 2023. Though it expired in February of this year, his legal status was set to continue through his time at USC. But staff with the university’s International Student and Scholar Support division told Ariwoola on April 8 that his records through the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, had been terminated.
The reason listed was “OTHER – Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked. SEVIS record has been terminated.”
But Ariwoola had never been convicted of a crime, according to the lawsuit.
The only interaction he has had with American law enforcement was in 2023, when he was arrested on a Georgia warrant for theft by deception, despite never having been to Georgia. According to the lawsuit, Matthew was never required to appear in court, and the case was dismissed.
With his SEVIS record terminated, Ariwoola would be barred from his research and teaching. It means he wouldn’t be able to comply with his F-1 status requirements, according to the lawsuit. And he wouldn’t be able to graduate in December, much less pay next month’s rent without his research stipend.
Ariwoola is asking the court to restore his F-1 student status so that he can continue his studies at USC.
“I am scared,” Ariwoola said in a declaration filing. “I hope I can fulfill my dream of earning a Ph.D. here in South Carolina.”
U.S. District Judge Jacquelyn Austin granted Ariwoola’s motion for an emergency temporary restraining order in the case. The order gave the USC student 14 days of amnesty — the federal government cannot arrest, detain or remove him from the country. Ariwoola is allowed to continue his work at USC during that time.
The federal government has until April 25 to file a response. A hearing may be held on May 2 in Greenville, if necessary.
University spokesman Jeff Stensland told The State in early April that “several” international students received notice that their visas had been terminated. He declined to confirm the specific number.
More than 1,500 international students at over 240 colleges across the country are facing similar visa challenges, according to reporting by Inside Higher Ed.
When the White House first began targeting foreign-born students in March, NBC reported that many had been involved in pro-Palestine activism.
“We do it every day. Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press conference.
Ariwoola was involved in no such protest, according to a legal filing.
“Matthew is yet another victim of the Trump administration’s haphazard and flagrantly unconstitutional dragnet of our international students,” Allen Chaney, legal director of the ACLU of South Carolina, said in a news release. “It’s hard to see how ejecting a hardworking and law-abiding doctoral student is anything but the product of an unmasked hatred of non-Americans. No one is better off if Matthew is deported, no one.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
