BOSTON — Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging the Trump administration's decision to bar international students from staying in the U.S. if they take classes entirely online this fall.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement notified colleges Monday that international students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools operate entirely online this fall. New visas will not be issued to students at those schools, and others at universities offering a mix of online and in-person classes will be barred from taking all of their classes online.
The guidance says international students won't be exempt even if an outbreak forces their schools online during the fall term.
The guidance was released the same day Harvard announced it would be keeping its classes online this fall. Harvard says the directive would prevent many of Harvard's 5,000 international students from remaining in the U.S.
Harvard President Lawrence Bacow said the order came without notice and that its “cruelty” was surpassed only by its "recklessness.”
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“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.”
The lawsuit, filed in Boston's federal court, seeks to prevent federal immigration authorities from enforcing the rule. The universities contend that the directive violates the Administrative Procedures Act because officials failed to offer a reasonable basis justifying the policy and because the public was not given notice to comment on it.
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The Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The guidelines have provoked 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.
The University of Houston said it is in communication with more than 3,000 international students to assist them with compliance.
“UH announced in June it plans to offer a HyFlex mode of courses in the fall, incorporating both face-to-face and online learning, as well as courses that are fully online,” UH Associate Vice Chancellor Mike Rosen said in a statement. “While the guidance, as issued July 6, provides some flexibility for international students to remain in the United States by taking a mix of face-to-face and online classes as universities adjust to COVID-19, it does not allow them to remain in country if circumstances dictate a mid-semester shift to fully online.”