Trump reverses ICE rule threatening status of international students
Devi Shastri
Facing widespread backlash from universities, the Trump administration announced Tuesday it will drop a rule that international students at U.S. universities must take in-person college classes in order to stay in the country.
The decision comes a little more than a week after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the rule, which reversed previous guidance allowing students on F1 visas to take all their courses online during the coronavirus pandemic.
Eight federal lawsuits have been filed in opposition to the rule, including one multistate suit that Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul signed onto Monday. “This unlawful policy pressures colleges and universities to provide in-person instruction regardless of whether it’s safe to do so and threatens to cause further harm to our economy,” he said.
The reversal was announced at the start of a hearing on a lawsuit filed by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to stop the rule.
“I’m very happy the Trump administration has withdrawn this harmful policy,” Kaul said late Tuesday. “This is a major win for not only colleges, universities and students but also for public health and the economy.”
Though most Wisconsin universities would have been exempt under the rule because they are planning for a “hybrid” approach to fall instruction — with some classes online and others face to face — officials across the state have spoken out against the policy, saying it robbed them of the flexibility they need to keep people safe.
ICE had said that if a university were to shift back to fully online instruction mid-semester, its international students on F1 visas would have to transfer schools, leave the country or face deportation.
Several University of Wisconsin schools provided information on the economic impact that their international students have on their campuses. UW-Madison said its 5,800 international students bring in more than $180 million in revenue. It also noted that more than one in four courses on campus are taught by international teaching assistants.
One of those teaching assistants is Linh Nguyen, a Vietnamese student who told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week that the rule not only brought instability into his plans for the fall but also sent the message that he was not welcome in the U.S.
“I was quite shocked and frustrated,” said Nguyen, who is earning his MBA at UW-Madison. “I went through this whole process legally. All the laws have been set out and I just followed them and I got my F1 visa. For them to suddenly come up with a reason to kick us out, just like that, it just doesn’t feel fair to me.”
UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank, who spoke out against the rule last week in an interview with PBS NewsHour, welcomed the reversal Tuesday and said it would give students the stability they need as they pursue their degrees.
“The swift and strong response — from students, faculty and staff; from university, business and community leaders; and from state attorneys general – demonstrates what an important place international students have on our campuses and in our country,” Blank said. “We will continue to monitor this situation and advocate for wise policies.”
With the rule reversed, students may be able to breathe a sigh of relief. But the whiplash may not be quickly forgotten either.
Fabien Siles, a French student who was admitted to UW-Madison’s doctoral program in French literature, said he’s relieved by the reversal. Siles, who is in the process of getting his F1 visa, said he found the changes to be “impulsive” and avoidable.
“It is really a shame that we had to go through this emotional roller coaster, but it feels good that in the end, many problems are going to be solved for us international students,” he said.