OH, I agree. I can’t imagine the history between this student and his/her parents that built up to this move. My guess is lots of back and forth. This did not happen in a vacuum.
But we can’t change-- or rationalize-- the behavior of the parents. All we can do is advise the student. And my advice is to think very carefully about what to do next. You know the old saying about biting off your nose to spite your face… kinda gross when you think about it, but you get my point.
Being completely on your own at age 19 is rough. It would take something more drastic than what we know about this situation for me to suggest anyone take that route.