Trump administration retracts international student restriction

The U.S. government has backed down on Tuesday after the filing of eight federal lawsuits and receiving criticism from hundreds of schools. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency lifted the policy that would have required international students to take in-person classes this fall to stay in the country. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had reached a settlement with the federal government that would allow foreign students to stay in the United States regardless of class format.

What led to the change? When the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to transition to virtual learning in March, ICE suspended a rule limiting the number of online classes international students could take while living in the United States. On July 6, ICE reinstituted the policy, putting schools in a difficult spot as they try to plan for the fall semester. More than 200 institutions signed court briefs on Monday supporting Harvard and MIT’s lawsuit against the policy.

Dig deeper: Read Laura Edghill’s report in Schooled about the back-to-school plans at colleges and universities.