On Monday, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced its decision to withdraw certain visas from foreign students in the United States whose universities decide to transition to online instruction. These students can now face deportation unless they transfer to an institution with in-person classes.
The decision has come as a shock to many. ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program had previously instituted an exemption to allow international students to remain in the United States as many universities transitioned to online learning amid the coronavirus pandemic. ICE abruptly announced that the exemption will not be extended for the upcoming academic year, leaving many international students, and universities who had planned to or had already adopted online instruction plans, in a limbo. The announcement came on the same day that Harvard University, for example, announced all courses would be delivered online for the academic year.
Some schools, like the University of Texas, El Paso, Columbia, and New York University, among others, are further adjusting their instruction plans to accommodate their international student population after the ICE announcement. They have issued hybrid instruction plans that will enable international students to take in-person courses to comply with the new federal guidelines so they can continue to complete their degrees the United States.
Over a million international students studied in the United States in the 2018-2019 academic school year, making up approximately 5.5% of the total student population in the country. The ICE ruling will apply to F-1 and M-1 visas, 373,000 of which were issued last year.
Much uncertainty remains surrounding universities’ instructional plans for the upcoming school year, putting affected students in a difficult position. If schools transition to online learning after the semester has begun, international students will be forced to make arrangements to leave the country in the middle of the academic semester. “If you’re an international student, do you board that plane not knowing if you’ll be able to stay the whole semester?” remarked Bernie Burrola, vice president for international programs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Additionally, this decision can impact areas beyond international students’ educations. Some may miss out on job or internship opportunities, including risking their eligibility for Optional Practical Training (OPT) opportunities granted to F-1 students for temporary employment upon graduating in the United States.
“This news adds more frustration to what is already a challenging year,” rising Georgetown senior from Peru, Ariana Wu, told IQLatino. “I feel backed into a corner, but I’m hopeful that our university will stand with international students amidst these times, since this diverse body is what makes Georgetown so unique.”
“Now, my F-1 status and my future OPT opportunity are being threatened as I desperately try to leave Venezuela, a country that has no plans of opening its borders soon,” rising Bentley University senior, Rosa Sánchez, told us. “And, what’s worse, I’ll arrive at another country that can potentially deport me if my school decides to go online mid-semester due to health concerns.”
Harvard graduate student from Mexico, Valeria Mendiola, speaks to CNN on possibility of losing her visa
Academics, professors and university presidents have spoken out against the decision. Cornell University President Martha E. Pollack has stated that the decision “was wholly unexpected, and it is a senseless and unfair policy that runs counter to all that we stand for as a global academic community.”
Columbia University President Lee Bollinger has added to this concern, calling on students and faculty to “vigorously oppose” immigration policies harming the university, higher education, international students, and the national interest. “The destructive and indefensible purpose driving these policies is by now all too familiar, as is the resulting damage to the nation’s academic institutions,” he wrote.
Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) filed a lawsuit against the decision in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Wednesday.
The lawsuit seeks to block the ICE directive, arguing it violates the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to properly notify the public and failing to provide a reasonable basis for the rule. The universities argue they have been put in an “untenable situation” of moving forward with their plans of online instruction or attempting “with just weeks before classes resume, to provide in-person education despite the grave risk to public health and safety that such a change would entail.” Additionally, they highlight the challenges posed to students affected by the decision, noting that “for many students, returning to their home countries to participate in online instruction is impossible, impracticable, prohibitively expensive, and/or dangerous.” The lawsuit has since been joined by other universities, including Cornell, Northeastern, Georgetown, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, among others.
“The order came down without notice—its cruelty surpassed only by its recklessness. It appears that it was designed purposefully to place pressure on colleges and universities to open their on-campus classrooms for in-person instruction this fall, without regard to concerns for the health and safety of students, instructors, and others,” Harvard University President Larry Bacow said. “We will pursue this case vigorously so that our international students—and international students at institutions across the country—can continue their studies without the threat of deportation,” he added.