Last week, we wrote about the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) decision to withdraw certain visas from foreign students in the United States whose universities transitioned to online instruction amid the coronavirus pandemic. In an unexpected turn of events, the Trump administration dropped the new directive on Tuesday.
The decision represents an unusual move by an administration that has aggressively attempted to curb immigration. Just on Monday, the administration maintained that the change of policy represented a lawful exercise of its discretion.
But the next day, federal district judge Allison Burroughs, expected to preside over oral arguments in the Harvard and MIT lawsuit against ICE, announced the decision at the beginning of court proceedings. “I have been informed by the parties that they have come to a resolution,” she said.
The reversal came after immense backlash and a flurry of litigation against the administration’s decision. Harvard and MIT led the lawsuit against the directive; in Massachusetts alone, there are 77,000 international students with active study visas. Nearly 60 other universities supported the lawsuit, and companies like Facebook, Google, and the US Chamber of Commerce also filed supporting briefs. Additionally, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and her counterparts from 16 other states and the District of Columbia filed a separate lawsuit against the administration, arguing the directive would significantly harm universities’ finances and failed to consider the health of students, faculty, and staff.
An unnamed person familiar with the matter told CNN that the White House felt the blowback, and that some West Wing insiders believed the policy was poorly conceived and executed. “This ICE rule was senseless and illegal the minute it came out, and the Trump Administration knew it didn’t have a chance,” Healey said in a statement. “This is why we take action in court, why we stand up for our values, and why we will remain vigilant in protecting our international students from these harmful disruptions,” she added.
MIT President Rafael Reif celebrated the reversal, remarking that “this case also made abundantly clear that real lives are at stake in these matters, with the potential for real harm.”
President Reif, a Venezuelan immigrant and once a foreign student himself, explained why America needs foreign students in an op-ed for the New York Times. “The larger battle is far from over,” he said. “This misguided policy was one of many signals that the administration wants foreign students to stay away — an attitude that reflects a stark misreading of our national interest.”
He explained how the United States’ heterogeneity draws the best and brightest from all over the world, which contributes to the country’s persistent advantage in scientific creativity. He called this “the very strength our competitors [like China] envy most.” “I fear lately that we will recognize this strategic U.S. strength only once it is lost,” he added.
Foreign talent is so important to the United States “for the same reason the Boston Red Sox don’t limit themselves to players born in Boston,” President Reif explained. “The larger the pool you draw from, the larger the supply of exceptional talent,” and “when you turn away great players, rival teams happily sign them.” He noted how growing anti-immigration hostility is allowing other countries, including our competitors, to attract foreign students who could have brought their talents to the United States instead. “Our national message is that they are not welcome,” he said.
The question remains on what the decision means for students with expiring visas and students applying for visas for the first time, and if new rules for international visa-holders are coming. But for now, we celebrate the victory for up to a million international students who must no longer fear the possibility of deportation. May we take this moment as a lesson on the importance of foreign students and immigrants, and take heed of President Reif’s reminder that “we need to approach policy making, especially now, with more humanity, more decency—not less.”
Photo: Pat Greenhouse/Boston Globe