Policy change on intl students is misguided: US universities and lawmakers

July 08, 2020 08:39

Several Congressman and top educational institutions decried the policy change that will require international students who are in the United States with an F-1 visa to take at least one in-person course or else face the prospect of being deported.

But the the State Department asserted that many international students who had planned to study this fall in the US may still have the opportunity to do so.

The State Department's statement comes a day after the new guideline created panic among international students, the largest number of whom come from China and India.

Congressman Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Congresswoman Kathleen Rice, chairwoman of the Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations Subcommittee, said in a joint statement that the new policy will damage the economy, harm US institutions, and do nothing to improve America's safety or security.

"There is no apparent legitimate reason for the (Trump) administration's inflexibility toward international students attending colleges and universities that adopt 'online-only' policies -- the Administration seems to just want them to leave," the two lawmakers said.

International students contribute billions of dollars to the US economy and barring them from our country will deprive Americans of badly needed income. "We cannot allow President Trump to continue destroying jobs and cause needless suffering just to satisfy his anti-immigrant base. We oppose this reckless policy and the lasting harm it will cause to universities and communities across the country," they said.

Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne expressed concern that the decision will create more uncertainty and complexity for international students.

"Our international students must be able to continue making progress toward completing their degrees, and as a university we intend to support them in doing so. We will be working with our peers and national associations to understand how best to accomplish that in the context of these new rules, as well as to urge the Administration to rethink its position," he said.

The State Department, which issues visas to international students, however said the decision is temporary.

"This will allow a mixture of both in-person and some online coursework to meet the requirements for nonimmigrant student status," it said. -- PTI

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