Similar to most countries around the world, universities in the United States have moved online in order to cater for the safety of their students in the midst of the Coronavirus outbreak. Students who have moved to online learning share the majority of the world’s concern in combatting the unknown; however, foreign students in the United States have faced an additional concern while moving to online learning with regards to their immigration status.
The threat to foreign student’s immigration status came in the form of a new policy which inhibited their ability to stay in the United States while completing their online courses.
The new policy stated that foreign students studying online needed to return to their home countries unless they switched to a course with an in-person tuition. If these foreign students did not switch to in-person tuition courses then they were susceptible to being deported.
This alarming policy change occurred on the 6th July 2020 when the Student and Exchange Visitor Program of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) said that“foreign students who then failed to switch to in-person courses could face immigration consequences”.
The Background to the New Policy
An international student visa is classified under F1 status and requires foreign students to remain enrolled full time, to attend classes and to maintain passing grades.
These requirements for the retainment of a valid visa were made problematic because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the move to online classes by many institutions.
A policy decision issued in the beginning stages of the pandemic on the 13th March allowed foreign students to keep their visa status, regardless of not being able to attend in-person tuition.
However, this was subsequently changed on the 6th July 2020. The rationale for the new policy was given by the acting deputy secretary of the department of homeland security of United States. This rationale stated that“if they’re not going to be a student or they’re going to be 100 percent online, then they don’t have a basis to be here.”
University Retaliation
This new policy received major backlash from many institutions, including Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Harvard University and MIT were the first two institutions to oppose the new policy through filling lawsuits against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in order to obstruct the policy’s implementation. These two institutions wanted declaratory and injunctive relief. The basis on which these institutions filed their 24-page lawsuit was that “the Trump administration’s action violated the Administrative Procedure Act”.
The new policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act through being both arbitrary and capricious in the manner in which it offers “no reasoned decision-making”. The other basis of the two institution’s claim was dependent on the fact that the new policy decision was political in nature, forcing the re-opening of Universities.
Harvard and MIT received an abundance of support for their lawsuit from over 70 higher education associations and from major tech companies including Google, Twitter and Facebook. In addition to the above support, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey showed her support through tweeting “Not on my watch. This is just another cruel (& illegal) attempt by the Trump Admin & ICE to stir up uncertainty & punish immigrants".
The Reversal of the Policy
The retaliation received towards the 6th July policy ultimately led to its reversal 8 days after its announcement.
The reversal of the new policy was announced at the lawsuit hearing in Boston that Harvard and MIT instituted. Judge Allison Burroughs stated that the federal immigration authorities agreed to pull the July 6 directive and return to the status quo.
The Impact of the Policy
The policy issued on the 6th July would have had numerous negative impacts for both international students and the American economy. According to The New York Times, around one million international students enrol in universities in America and contribute 41 billion American dollars to the economy annually.
The loss the United States could now face with regards to the decline in enrolment of foreign students will have a detrimental impression on their economy. In addition to this the United States will also face a loss with regards to foreign talent seeking out a career in the United States as foreigners will not find comfort in the risk of deportation.
Foreign talent has played a substantial role in the United States. An example of this includes the South African-born founder of spaceX and Tesla Motors, Elon Musk. Musk has contributed both his skills and time into the United States and has subsequently created jobs and income for the economy.
The Difficulties Posed for Foreign Students
The now reversed immigration policy jeopardised the life and future of more than one million foreign students.
An associate professor of English at George Washington University highlighted the challenges that foreign students have faced by saying that “to force them to leave is to betray the promise of opportunity and fairness that undergirds American higher education.”
The opportunities that foreign students seek in the United States attract them away from the problems which they face towards education in their own countries. Some of the challenges which foreign students would have faced if they were deported back to their home countries include the risk of not being able to attend online classes due to poor internet access and a lack of available materials necessary to finish their degrees. In addition to this a difference in time zones would be problematic for foreign students in attending online classes.
Conclusion
There is an extensive amount of uncertainty available in the world today as the COVID-19 pandemic throws many countries into unprecedented times. This uncertainty has caused complications for foreign students who wish to complete their learning in the United States. Although the immigration policy regarding deportation for foreign students has been subsided for now, this does not mean that the fight for foreign students to stay in the United States is over.
Megan is a fourth-year Bcom law student from Johannesburg, South Africa. While finishing her penultimate year of her degree and specialising in a number of commercial law modules, she is actively involved in long distance running and aims to complete her first half-marathon in the next year.
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