Schools rally to keep international students

More than 200 schools across the country signed supporting briefs after Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued the U.S. government last week. The schools oppose the Trump administration’s decision requiring international students to take in-person classes this fall to stay in the country. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said U.S. law already prohibited foreign students from living in the United States while taking all their classes online, but it suspended the requirement in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

What happens next? A federal judge plans to hear the case on Tuesday. The lawsuit says ICE’s policy endangers foreign students and will force schools to reconsider plans they’ve been working on for months. If the judge sides with ICE, universities and colleges will have to inform the agency by Wednesday if they plan to host classes exclusively online.

Dig deeper: Read my report in Schooled about how new visa restrictions put a strain on international students.