Harvard, MIT sue Donald Trump administration over ultimatum to foreign students

Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Wednesday sued the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over the latest guidelines barring foreign students on F-1 visas from staying in the United States if the classes become fully online in the autumn.

The Department of Homeland Security has announced its plan to allow a mixture of both in-person and some online coursework to meet the requirements for nonimmigrant student status. The department said that the temporary accommodation provides “greater flexibility” for nonimmigrant students to continue their education in the United States.

“The United States has long been the destination of choice for international students, and we are pleased that many international students who had planned to study this fall in the United States may still have the opportunity to do so,” the department added.

Read: Harvard Invites Freshmen To Campus, But Classes Stay Online

'Disrupts lives: MIT President'

MIT President L. Rafael Reif said in a statement that the ruling has potentially serious implications for its international students and those enrolled at institutions across the country. MIT and Harvard jointly filed suit against ICE and the US Department of Homeland Security in federal court in Massachusetts in which they asked the court to prevent them from enforcing the new guidance and to declare it unlawful.

“The announcement disrupts our international students’ lives and jeopardizes their academic and research pursuits. ICE is unable to offer the most basic answers about how its policy will be interpreted or implemented,” he said.

Harvard President Lawrence Bacow said the order came without notice and that its “cruelty” was 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 other,” Bacow said in a statement Wednesday.

"This comes at a time when the United States has been setting daily records for the number of new infections, with more than 300,000 new cases reported since July 1,” he added. 

Read: Trump's 2015 Tweet Saying Foreign Students 'should Not Be Thrown Out' Surfaces

The guidelines have provoked a backlash from universities across the U.S. who say international students have an important place in their communities. Many schools have also come to depend on tuition revenue from international students, who typically pay higher tuition rates.

It creates an urgent dilemma for thousands of international students who became stranded in the U.S. last spring after the coronavirus forced their schools to move online. Those attending schools that are staying online must “depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction,” according to the guidance.