MARSHALL — Aditya Wahyu Harsono, a 33-year-old resident of Marshall and Indonesian citizen, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on March 27. He was in the United States on an active F-1 student visa, which was revoked without warning four days prior to his detainment.

According to court documents submitted by Harsono’s attorney, Sarah Gad, his visa was issued to him on June 15, 2021, and is valid through June 13, 2026, entering the country lawfully to complete a master’s degree at Southwest Minnesota State University in business administration and management. He successfully completed the program, attending Aug. 2021 to Dec. 2023.

“Aditya is not just a student visa holder — He’s a husband, a father and a vital part of our family,” Aditya’s wife, Peyton Harsono, wrote in a public GoFundMe posting. “We have an 8-month-old daughter who needs her dad. Every day she looks around for him. This has been deeply traumatic for all of us, especially her.”

A F-1 visa allows international students to study in the United States at an accredited college or university. Aditya was working as a supply-chain manager at Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center under the Optional Practical Training program (OPT), which allows international students a period of authorized stay following graduation to work in the field.

“He (Aditya) was arrested just four days later for allegedly “overstaying” the same visa that had just been revoked (on March 23),” Gad wrote in an email to the Independent. “At the time, he was working legally under OPT, which he obtained after successfully completing his educational program as an F-1 student.”

Aditya’s visa was revoked based on a misdemeanor charge from 2022, according to court documents and Peyton’s GoFundMe post.

Aditya’s public criminal record shows one misdemeanor conviction from July 10, 2022, for damage to property, which he did plead guilty for and served a 90-day suspension in the Lyon County jail, along with a $485 fine and a year of supervised probation, which he completed without incident and finished on Feb. 7, 2024.

The damage to property charge came from graffiti vandalization on four semi-trailers at the Schwan’s Treatment Plant and on a support leg of the railroad bridge near North 7th Street.

Aditya was approached by the Marshall police department after confirming video surveillance, to which he admitted to and proceeded with the charges.

Aditya’s public record also shows a few traffic violations, but there have been no cases filed since the 2022 misdemeanor.

On April 10 after his detainment, an immigration judge, Sarah Mazzie, granted Aditya to be released from custody under a $5,000 bond. But, the bond was quickly appealed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which caused a stay of Mazzie’s order and prevented his release.

In her post, Peyton referred to the bond as a “brief moment of hope,” which was “short-lived.”

Peyton also wrote that Aditya has lost his job while being held in custody.

“While in detention, my husband was terminated … We are in danger of losing our apartment, no longer have health insurance, along with other bills and necessities that are needed when caring for a baby,” Peyton said online. “The trauma of this separation is unbearable … Our family unit is suffering beyond measure.”

Aditya remains in ICE custody at the Kandiyohi County Jail in Willmar as of April 13, Gad confirmed.

Both Gad and Peyton said they have speculations that Aditya’s detainment also could have been influenced with his involvement in a 2021 George Floyd protest, where he was arrested for a curfew violation.

“We fear his political activism played a role in targeting him,” Peyton wrote. “That case, in which he was arrested for unlawful assembly, was later dismissed ‘in the interest of justice.'”

“I believe the revocation may have been related (to Aditya’s protest arrest) … In part, because the protest was a priority exhibit in DHS’s evidence supporting his removal,” Gad said in an email. She, and Peyton, also said that charge was dismissed.

Another court document detailed that Aditya’s arrest and visa revocation was to be executed silently without notice.

Aditya’s arrest comes days after an active student at Minnesota State University Mankato was detained by ICE, along with five others at the university having their visas terminated.

According to several media outlets, there have been hundreds of students across the country that have had their visas revoked.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in late March the country has a right to revoke student visas.

“Because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we’re not going to give you a visa,” Rubio said. “(If you) enter the United States with that visa, and with that visa participate in that sort of activity, we are going to take away your visa.”

When asked by a reporter to confirm that 300 student visas, at the time, have been revoked by the State Department, Rubio responded, “Might be more than 300 at this point. We do it every day … At some point, I hope we run out because we’ve gotten rid of all of them, but we are looking every day.”

SMSU is home to currently more than 200 international students from over 27 countries, and recently just saw a 42% international enrollment increase for the spring semester from when classes first started in the fall.

Aditya and Peyton, who is a U.S. citizen, married in October 2023. He has been in the process of obtaining a green card, prior to his visa revocation.

“We filed an I-130 petition and a spousal green card application on his behalf,” Gad said. “That process remains pending, which means he still has a lawful basis to remain in the U.S. — Both then and now.”

Gad said that Aditya will remain in ICE custody, with his next hearing on April 17.