Harvard, MIT sue Trump over order to deport foreign students
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Harvard University and MIT sue Donald Trump government over order to deport all foreign students, including tens of thousands of Africans, taking classes online amid COVID-19
Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday asked a federal court to temporarily block an order by the Trump administration to expel foreign students whose universities are not holding in-person classes this fall amid COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic has forced many schools go online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harvard and MIT on Wednesday, 8 July, sued the Donald Trump administration over its order to not give international students US visas and deport them if courses go online.
Harvard University and MIT sue Trump administration
The universities have sought a temporary restraining order against the order passed by the US government on 6 July.
The US, on Monday, had said that it would not allow foreign students to remain in the country if all of their classes are moved online in the autumn season.
The US, on Monday, had said that it would not allow foreign students to remain in the country if all of their classes are moved online in the autumn season.
According to NDTV, the universities told the US District Court in Boston that they relied on the Department of Homeland Security’s policy from March, that allowed foreign students in the US to stay and also allow new students to enroll this fall.
Those affected by this move would be non-immigrant F-1 and M-1 students, the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agency said, adding that they should depart the country or take a transfer to a school having in-person instruction.
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The order will impact thousands of students studying in the US including tens of thousands of Nigerians.
“We believe that the ICE order is bad public policy, and we believe that it is illegal… We will pursue this case vigorously so that our international students – and international students at institutions across the country – can continue their studies without the threat of deportation,” said Harvard University President Lawrence as quoted by NDTV from The Harvard Crimson.
“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,” Bacow was quoted by The New York Times as saying.
Breaking down the latest visa ban, imposed by the US government on foreign students, Canada-based journalist Shibani Gokhale said that not adhering to the rules may lead to deportation, or even a likely ban from re-entry into the US.
Till now, foreign students pursuing their spring and summer courses online have been allowed to stay in the US.
Students, therefore, have only two options – one is to leave US and return to their home country and the other is to transfer to a university that offers hybrid courses.
“The only way F-1 visa holders can stay in the US and continue their studies is if their university starts offering hybrid method of teaching, which is a mix of both online and in-person classes,” said Gokhale, explaining the new rules.
However, she added that, such students must get the university to certify that they are holding hybrid classes for the course that the particular student is enrolled in and also provide proof for the same.
