The U.S. Department of Homeland Security terminated the legal status of two non-U.S. citizens affiliated with Dartmouth College last week, college spokesperson Jana Barnello confirmed.

Dartmouth became aware of the status changes when it conducted a “proactive check” of the federal government’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, Barnello wrote in a statement. 

Dartmouth refused to identify either individual or to confirm whether they were students, but on Monday, Xiaotian Liu, a PhD student, filed a lawsuit in federal court stating that he was one of the individuals who had been informed of the status change by the college. His lawyers said they had not confirmed whether his visa had been revoked, as well.

Liu, who is represented by the ACLU of New Hampshire, said he hasn’t been informed about hwy his status changed.

“He has not committed a traffic violation, let alone a crime, in the United States,” his lawyers wrote. “Nor has he participated in any protests in the United States or elsewhere.”

The changes in status for Liu and the other individual come as hundreds of international students across the country report their visas have been revoked. Theirs are the first to be publicly reported in New Hampshire.

The revocations began at Columbia University in early March and at first appeared to target students who participated in pro-Palestine protests or engaged in speech critical of Israel. In the last week, the scope appears to have broadened, according to the New York Times.

“Dartmouth is in direct contact with the two affected individuals, and, more broadly, is committed to helping impacted community members connect with legal and support resources,” Barnello said in a statement.

Liu is from China and has studied computer science at Dartmouth since 2023, according to the complaint.

His lawsuit was first reported by the Boston Globe.

Liu learned of his status change on April 4 when Dartmouth sent him an email stating that the college had “discovered this evening that [his] F-1 record in SEVIS [Student and Exchange Visitor system] ha[d] been terminated” by the Department of Homeland Security, according to the lawsuit.

His lawyers said the news was “shocking” and put his pursuit of a PhD in “severe jeopardy.” They are asking a judge to reinstate his student status and bar the federal government from detaining him.

No international students at the University of New Hampshire, the other higher education institution in the state that experienced a major pro-Palestine protest, have had their visas revoked, spokesperson Tania deLuzuriaga wrote in an email Tuesday.

Jeremy Margolis can be conacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.