ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Attorneys are preparing to head to federal court in Atlanta to defend international students whose visas were revoked unexpectedly by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“They’re not telling the students what they did that caused the termination of their registration for their student status. They’re simply saying, ‘You failed to maintain status,’” said attorney Charles Kuck.

Kuck is one of the attorneys going to bat for over 150 of these students, 30 of whom are studying in Georgia.

“Our lead plaintiff is a student athlete at Kennesaw State and she was arrested because of a fight with her boyfriend,” said Kuck.

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Kuck will go before a federal judge, along with attorneys from civil rights organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union, and ask for a temporary restraining order.

“They have a system that they need to follow and we’re going to make them follow that system,” said Kuck.

“Give these students a chance to stay and finish their education and finish the reason why they’re here: to receive a better life for themselves as well as bring prosperity to their community,” said Aaron Butler, the managing attorney with CAIR.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been asked about these student visa revocations.

“We’re going to err on the side of caution. We are not going to be importing activists into the United States,” said Rubio.

But Butler says that doesn’t apply in the cases he’s seeing.

“There have been no individuals that we’ve identified here within the state of Georgia that have had their visa statuses revoked due to political advocacy,” said Butler.

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Students whose visas have been revoked in Georgia are on police and ICE’s radar for running red lights and unpaid tickets, according to the attorneys Atlanta News First reporters spoke with.

“None of our clients, and none of the people we’ve seen so far are eligible to be deported,” said Kuck.

“What it is we’re deciding is going to get your visa revoked, which is illegal activity, essentially,” said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

The hearing in front of the federal judge will be Thursday at 11 a.m.

MORE COVERAGE: Metro Atlanta students rally against visa revocations at Emory University

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