(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – A federal judge has extended a temporary restraining order barring the Department of Homeland Security from deporting four international students at the University of Iowa while she considers whether to convert that order into a preliminary injunction. The students are suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for revoking their status as students.

While the students have been pursuing their case under a series of “John Doe” pseudonyms, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger ruled Monday (today) that the students will have to publicly identify themselves or drop out of the case within the next 24 hours. The students’ identities have already been revealed to Homeland Security, but lawyers for the four had argued their clients shouldn’t be forced to publicly reveal their identities in order to pursue their lawsuit against the government.

Judge Ebinger found the students’ generalized fear of harassment didn’t meet “the very high standard” for granting them anonymity, citing past court rulings that say court proceedings “are only truly public when the public knows the identities of the litigants.” Also on Monday, Ebinger agreed to extend, for 14 days, her temporary restraining order protecting the four international students from being detained or deported by ICE or Homeland Security. She said she plans to rule on whether to grant a preliminary injunction to that effect before the restraining order expires.

According to the lawsuit, each of the plaintiffs was admitted to the United States on an F-1 student visa. The students claim the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has violated their due process rights by terminating their student status without legal justification or explanation. Named as defendants in the case are Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, of which Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is a part. Also named as a defendant is Acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons.

In granting the students’ initial request for a temporary restraining order, Ebinger concluded the students had “demonstrated a likelihood of success” as to their legal claims and had also shown they could otherwise be subjected to irreparable harm. The judge noted there had been no suggestion that any of the recognized, lawful reasons for terminating the plaintiffs’ status as students — such as providing false information to the government, engaging in unauthorized employment, or failing to engage in an approved course of study — appeared to exist or were even argued by Homeland Security as a justification for its actions.

Since beginning their studies, the lawsuit claims, the plaintiffs have maintained their status as students, are in good academic standing and have not committed any serious criminal offenses. Three of the four are studying chemical engineering, economics or exercise science, while the fourth is working for the State of Iowa as an epidemiologist.