- Oct 17, 2011
- 40,417
- 43,508
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Atheist
- Marital Status
- Legal Union (Other)
The cruelty is the goal.
(I can certainly many students desperately wanting to be back in NZ or Canada rather than in the US, but making it mandatory is hardly considerate to people with their own individual circumstances.)
International students must take classes in person to stay in the country legally this fall, ICE announces
University officials scrambled Monday to adapt to new federal guidance that does not allow international students to stay in the country if they are taking classes online only. It also left some students expressing fears on social media that they risked being suddenly deported.
“Our institutions right now are struggling to figure out what the fall is going to look like, how best to serve their students, while keeping everybody safe,” said Sarah Spreitzer, director of government relations for the American Council on Education. “This is just going to make things more complicated. ”
When universities rapidly shut down this spring in response to the coronavirus pandemic — many in response to governors’ orders — federal agencies granted flexibility to existing requirements that international students must take classes in person. The major associations of universities had asked federal officials to extend that flexibility into the fall, as the continued spread of the disease has led many schools to offer classes online only in an effort to prevent further spread of the disease.
On Monday, the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program announced, “The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States."
“Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status,” the announcement said. “If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.”
University leaders have many questions, including what this might mean for graduate students, several people said.
“If their labs close and they’re not able to work full time on dissertation research … do they have to leave the country?” Boroughs asked. “We know there are many PhD candidates who are involved in critical research to respond to this covid pandemic.”
spiffy
---
Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over its guidance not allowing foreign students to take online-only courses in the US this fall semester.
Harvard announced earlier this week that all course instruction will be delivered online, including for students living on campus. In a statement provided to CNN, the university said the guidance stands to affect approximately 5,000 international students.
"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.
--
ETA2
The Trump administration has rescinded its policy that would bar international students who only take online courses from staying in the US, a federal judge announced Tuesday in Boston.
The decision comes a little over a week after Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that students at schools offering only online courses due to the coronavirus pandemic would need to either leave the US or transfer schools.
One person familiar with the matter told CNN the White House has felt the blowback to the proposal and that some inside the West Wing believe it was poorly conceived and executed.
Cruel, poorly conceived and executed. There's an epitaph for 2016-2020.
(I can certainly many students desperately wanting to be back in NZ or Canada rather than in the US, but making it mandatory is hardly considerate to people with their own individual circumstances.)
International students must take classes in person to stay in the country legally this fall, ICE announces
University officials scrambled Monday to adapt to new federal guidance that does not allow international students to stay in the country if they are taking classes online only. It also left some students expressing fears on social media that they risked being suddenly deported.
“Our institutions right now are struggling to figure out what the fall is going to look like, how best to serve their students, while keeping everybody safe,” said Sarah Spreitzer, director of government relations for the American Council on Education. “This is just going to make things more complicated. ”
When universities rapidly shut down this spring in response to the coronavirus pandemic — many in response to governors’ orders — federal agencies granted flexibility to existing requirements that international students must take classes in person. The major associations of universities had asked federal officials to extend that flexibility into the fall, as the continued spread of the disease has led many schools to offer classes online only in an effort to prevent further spread of the disease.
On Monday, the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program announced, “The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States."
“Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status,” the announcement said. “If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.”
University leaders have many questions, including what this might mean for graduate students, several people said.
“If their labs close and they’re not able to work full time on dissertation research … do they have to leave the country?” Boroughs asked. “We know there are many PhD candidates who are involved in critical research to respond to this covid pandemic.”
spiffy
---
Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over its guidance not allowing foreign students to take online-only courses in the US this fall semester.
Harvard announced earlier this week that all course instruction will be delivered online, including for students living on campus. In a statement provided to CNN, the university said the guidance stands to affect approximately 5,000 international students.
"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.
--
ETA2
The Trump administration has rescinded its policy that would bar international students who only take online courses from staying in the US, a federal judge announced Tuesday in Boston.
The decision comes a little over a week after Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that students at schools offering only online courses due to the coronavirus pandemic would need to either leave the US or transfer schools.
One person familiar with the matter told CNN the White House has felt the blowback to the proposal and that some inside the West Wing believe it was poorly conceived and executed.
Cruel, poorly conceived and executed. There's an epitaph for 2016-2020.
Last edited:
