Students who enrolled at a fake Michigan university set up by immigration agents have the right to sue the U.S. government, a federal appellate court ruled.
A decision last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit means hundreds of students who paid tuition at the University of Farmington in Farmington Hills – created by undercover agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – have a legal basis to continue pursuing their claims in court. Farmington Hills is about 20 miles northwest of Detroit.
In 2020, a lawsuit was filed against the U.S. government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims by attorneys on behalf of Teja Ravi and other students enrolled at the University of Farmington, which was shut down by ICE after agents arrested about 250 of its students . The lawsuit said the government breached its contract with the students by stealing their tuition money, about $11,000 per year for each student. Students are asking for their money back and other punitive damages.