The visa for an international student at the Roux Institute in Portland has been abruptly terminated without explanation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine confirmed Thursday afternoon.

The ACLU did not identify the student by name, but said they are a graduate student at the Northeastern-run tech institute located in Portland’s Old Port. The student said they received an email from the university this month informing them that their F-1 visa status on SEVIS — the system that maintains student visa records — had been terminated by the government.

“As a result, I can no longer go to class or work,” the student said. “The termination of my student status is a significant concern for me because my legal status in the United States is dependent on the SEVIS record. Because of this termination, I have had to stop being involved in my community and I had to cancel my plans to visit my family this spring.”

It was not immediately clear which country the student is from, and if they would return there. The Press Herald was unable to reach the student Thursday afternoon via the ACLU.

More than 1,500 international students across the country have had their visa status terminated, often without explanation, since March 1, part of the Trump administration’s limitations on foreign students.

A spokesperson for Northeastern pointed to an information page that said more than 40 students across the university’s several campuses have had their visas terminated, but did not provide that information broken out by campus. Northeastern said it was not aware of any students who have “had their status revoked due to political advocacy or speech.”

Last Friday, the ACLU of Maine joined other affiliates in filing a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies. The suit seeks to restore the visa status of any students in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico who had it wrongfully terminated, and to prevent any wrongful visa revocations moving forward.

At the time, the organization said it was not aware of any students in Maine who had had their visas terminated, but presumed there were some.

The Roux Institute has the third-largest number of international students in Maine, with 237 as of 2024, following the University of Maine and Colby College. A spokesperson for the state’s public university system said Monday that no students from UMaine or other system schools had lost their visas, and a spokesperson for Colby declined to answer questions. Other colleges, including Bates and Bowdoin, have declined to comment.

The speed and scope of the federal government’s efforts to terminate the legal status of international students have stunned colleges across the country. Few corners of higher education have been untouched, as schools ranging from prestigious private universities, large public research institutions and tiny liberal arts colleges discover status terminations one after another among their students.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that the State Department was revoking visas for anyone acting counter to national interests, including those who protested Israel’s war in Gaza and those who face criminal charges. But many affected students said they have been involved only in minor infractions, or it’s unclear altogether why they were targeted.

Some are taking the issue to court, and have found a measure of success there, with federal judges around the country issuing orders to restore their legal status at least temporarily.

Judges have issued temporary restraining orders in states including New Hampshire, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. They have denied similar requests in some other cases, saying it was not clear the loss of status would cause irreparable harm.

An attorney for Missouri State University has speculated in court that the government is trying to encourage students to self-deport, saying “the pressure on these students is overwhelming.” He said some asked him if it was safe to leave their homes to get food, and others worried they wouldn’t receive a degree after years of work or feared their chances of a career in the U.S. were shot.

This story contains material from The Associated Press.