A recent University of Alaska graduate is suing the federal government after his foreign student status was revoked by the Trump administration.
Jean Kashikov is one of four UA students, and hundreds nationwide, who recently had their status terminated in the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS. His student visa was also revoked.
A spokesperson for the university said Thursday that, to their knowledge, there have been no additional UA students or recent graduates to have their status terminated or student visas revoked since Kashikov and the others in mid-April.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court, Kashikov’s attorneys say the Department of Homeland Security did not give Kashikov proper notice of the termination of his student status, and they say the revocation of his student status puts him at risk of being detained by Immigration & Customs Enforcement officials.
Cindy Woods with the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, one of the attorneys representing Kashikov, pointed to the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as the federal Administrative Procedure Act.
“We do think that there has been clearly unlawful activity here," Woods said. "A violation of Mr. Kashikov’s Fifth Amendment rights and his right to due process, and also a violation of the APA because this was a final agency action that he has not been given the opportunity to contest.”
Kashikov graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2024, earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in May and an associate’s degree in piloting in December. He had worked as a self-employed flight instructor since March as part of his optional practical training, a defined time period that allows foreign students to work in the country for up to a year, if they are working in their field of study.
In an email, UAA notified Kashikov on April 10 that his SEVIS record had been terminated. The federal government’s stated reason for the termination was “other,” and the email noted that his record was terminated following a criminal records check.
Kashikov told Alaska Public Media that he’d been arrested in Arizona in 2022 after he blocked a public bus he says refused to pick him up, but the charges were dropped. He also had a speeding ticket in Georgia, but that was also dismissed.
Nicolas Olano, a lawyer with Nations Law Group who is also representing Kashikov, said Kashikov shouldn’t have lost his SEVIS status as a result.
“That is not sufficient to revoke your status in the United States," Olano said. "It's a different standard to revoke your visa. OK, they might have been right or could be right. That doesn't matter at this point. What matters really is what is his status.”
In the lawsuit, the attorneys say they are not contesting the revocation of Kashikov's student visa, which allowed him to enter the country, and are instead suing over the termination of his student status.
Kashikov’s attorneys are asking a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order that would prevent federal officials from detaining him as a result of his student status being revoked.
But Woods said she believes the loss of Kashikov’s SEVIS status has caused irreparable harm.
“We're hopeful that the judge sees that as well and can issue a temporary restraining order and then move forward with a permanent injunction, so that while this is all ongoing, Mr. Kashkoff can continue to fly and to instruct and reap the benefits of the education that he received here in Alaska.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE director Todd Lyons are named as defendants in the suit.
"Due to privacy concerns and visa confidentiality, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) generally does not comment on specific cases or actions taken under the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)," a senior DHS official said in an email.
In a statement, an ICE spokesperson said the department does not comment on pending litigation.
