The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
State officials rip rescinded international students rule
Board of Regents President Mark Ojakian called it an attack.
Gov. Ned Lamont called it cruel, as did Connecticut Attorney General William Tong — and that was after the Trump administration did an abrupt and surprising about face on a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy that would have required international students to leave the United States if they did not take in-person classes in the fall term.
Just as state and university officials were lining up for a legal battle, it was announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had rescinded the rule.
The relief was tinged with anger. “This cruel and misguided rule should never have been drafted in the first place,” Tong said in response the the reversal. “Rescinding it was the only appropriate course of action. The Trump administration owes an apology to the hundreds of thousands of international students who contribute tremendously to the academic, cultural, and economic vibrancy of our educational institutions.”
On Monday, Tong joined with a coalition of 18 attorneys general to file a lawsuit to stop the rule, which could have affected
thousands of international students attending college in Connecticut. The lawsuit also included 40 declarations from a variety of institutions, including the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, University of Connecticut and Yale University.
Although many higher education institutions in Connecticut plan to offer at least some in-person classes this fall, the threat of a coronavirus pandemic resurgence remains.
During his daily news briefing Tuesday, Lamont said while the directive might have affected Connecticut less, it stood to be incredibly disruptive elsewhere around the country, where infection rates are climbing.
“A lot of international students don’t know if they should come back,” Lamont said. “It’s wrong to force these schools to reopen for in-person learning regardless of what the COVID infection rate is.”
Lamont described the effort to compel universities to stay open regardless of health risk an “incredibly dumb policy.”
“I think it’s probably illegal, certainly I think it’s immoral,” Lamont said.
UConn President Thomas Katsouleas’ reaction to the announcement came via a tweet.
“Really great for our students, our University, and our country that DHS/ICE has rescinded their visa restriction for online international students. The right decision for so many reasons — moral, public health, and prevention of a potential brain drain.”
UConn has more than 3,500 international students who might be affected, even though UConn plans to hold in-person classes in the fall.
A message has gone out to the UConn community saying that with the July 6 rule rescinded, colleges and universities can go back to the March guidance that allowed international students take online classes to retain their F-1 and M-1 visas.
At Yale University, also home to thousands of international students and scholars, President Peter Salovey expressed relief.
“I am ... gratified that the Department of Homeland Security has agreed to withdraw its recent announcement,” Salovey said. “I understand that DHS will return to the policy it adopted in March, which allows continuing international students to study in the U.S. even if campuses move to online instruction. Yale is also committed to helping to solve this issue for new students.”
Salovey said it is important to affirm that the U.S. continues to welcome students from around the globe.
Campuses, he added, need the leeway to make decisions about the fall term that protect the health and safety of faculty, students and staff.
Ojakian, who oversees 17 institutions under the Connecticut State College and Universities umbrella, said he was proud that the state and system played a role in causing the federal government to backtrack from what he called a “wrongheaded position.”
“This is undoubtedly good news for our students, our institutions and our communities at large,” Ojakian said.
At Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, President John Petillo said he was also grateful for the policy reversal on international students and online studies.
“With everything else this population has to worry about right now, they should not be concerned with the possibility of having to shut down their studies if the pandemic dictates that schools switch to online learning,” Petillo said. “This walk back is the right thing for these students, for all educational institutions and for the country’s economy.”