The ACLU of Michigan is suing the federal government after dozens of international university students had their student visa statuses revoked since the beginning of April.

The organization is fighting for two international students at the University of Michigan and two students at Wayne State University claiming the Department of Homeland Security provided no basis or evidence to revoke their student status, which they call unprecedented. 

The ACLU is seeking to protect them from being deported while they wait for the rest of the lawsuit to play out. The original lawsuit seeks an injunction to let the students continue working and learning at these schools, claiming the government violated their Fifth Amendment rights to due process.

On Tuesday, Judge Stephen J Murphy heard arguments but did not make a decision by late afternoon on whether he'll grant a temporary restraining order against the U.S. government. The order would protect the students from being deported during their fight to return to their classes.

"It's the government going in, terminating someone's status, not notifying the student, not even notifying the school. This is unprecedented for the agency, the federal government, to go into this database in the dead of night without notice, and essentially strike individuals out of the database," said ACLU senior staff attorney Ramis Wadood.

"Our plaintiffs deserve a notice and an actual explanation to why their status is being terminated and the opportunity to explain. This doesn't apply to me. This is wrong. I deserve to stay in the U.S. and complete my degree."

Wadood claims this is another example of a concerning pattern of behavior by the Trump administration to target some of the most vulnerable populations in our country.

"I think this is part of a larger pattern by the Trump administration to go after as many non-citizens as they can," he said.

The defense argued in court that these students failed to maintain their status without naming what specifically led to this failure. According to court documents, neither of the four students has any criminal record outside a few resolved traffic violations, nor have they participated in any political protests.

As attorneys fight this case in court, they say the four students are also packing their bags in preparation to leave the country, further demonstrating how confusing the circumstances around these status changes have been.