July 8. 2020

Today the Harvard Crimson newspaper published an article about the university filing suit against the U.S. government over its new rule concerning foreign students and online classes

On Tuesday, July 7, 2020 the U.S. government's I.C.E. division announced that due to many universities in America switching to online classes, as opposed to physical classrooms, under the current coronavirus outbreak, all foreign students must meet new guidelines or immediately leave the country.

The new rule stipulates foreign students must switch to attending a university offering classes in physical classrooms, if their current school has switched to online schooling, due to the coronavirus (Covid-19). Foreign students who fail to comply with the new rule that went into effect on July 7, 2020, must leave the country or face deportation. The rule also states foreign students are permitted to leave the country and take online courses at American universities from their own home countries.

Immediately I tweeted the new rule would lead to a big legal mess. One day later it has happened. Today, Harvard University and M.I.T. filed a lawsuit against U.S. Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.), regarding the new rule, seeking to have it cancelled.

Many students have already paid tuition and for housing, only to be hit with a new rule that would mean they have lost thousands of dollars. This is grounds for lawsuits against the government. The new rule will prove to be quite costly regarding lost revenue from foreign students who pay far more in tuition than locals. Foreign students also stimulate the economy in buying food, clothing, gas and other goods. They represent billions per year in revenue to the U.S. treasury.

My tweets from Twitter.com predicting a big legal mess would ensue and one day later it has begun:

STORY SOURCE

Harvard, MIT Sue Immigration Authorities Over Rule Barring International Students from Online-Only Universities

2 hours ago - Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a lawsuit in District Court in Boston Wednesday morning against the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to University President Lawrence S. Bacow.

The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to bar the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from enforcing federal guidelines barring international students attending colleges and universities offering only online courses from staying in the United States.

The guidelines would mandate that they transfer to an institution offering in-person instruction or risk “immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.” “The order came down without notice—its cruelty surpassed only by its recklessness,” Bacow wrote in an email to affiliates. “We believe that the ICE order is bad public policy, and we believe that it is illegal.”

DHS and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The guidelines were released just hours after Harvard announced it would house no more than 40 percent of undergraduates and would hold all College classes online in the fall.

“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,” Bacow wrote.

The move by immigration authorities sparked legal action almost immediately — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Tuesday that her office “will sue” over the guidelines, which she called “cruel” and “illegal.”...

https://www.thecrimson.com