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California will become the first state to sue the Trump administration over guidelines issued this week that bar international students from remaining in the U.S. if they can take classes online, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Thursday afternoon.

The lawsuit, which was expected to be filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for Northern California, seeks a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the new visa policy.

Under the directive, students on F-1 and M-1 visas “must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement.

Those who violate the rules “may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings,” the agency said. (more…)

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.” (more…)

The government announced Monday that international students will not be allowed to stay in the country if the institution in which they’re enrolled is holding online-only courses this fall, and those failing to comply with the rules will risk deportation.

Students on F-1 and M-1 visas who face such a situation “must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status,” the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said in a news release.

Those who violate the rules “may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings,” the agency said. (more…)

Tweets of travel bans reverberate through deserted terminals. Consequences of visa cancellations echo in desolate embassies. Murmurs of work permit suspensions linger in empty dorms. For the more than 1 million foreign students in the United States, this threatened suspension would be devastating. I know this because I used to be one. Being an immigration attorney also makes me acutely aware of the turmoil this would cause.

Every year, foreign students flock to America in droves. They come for the world-class education, the ground-breaking research and the multicultural environment. The post-graduation work permit is a further draw. It is this work permit — known as Optional Practical Training — that now appears to be on the Trump administration’s chopping block to reduce immigration.

In a recent letter to the president, Republican Sens. Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Chuck Grassley and Josh Hawley called for the suspension of OPT, claiming there is “no reason” to allow these foreign graduates to apply for work permits. Ethical considerations aside, there is a plethora of economic evidence to support retaining the OPT program for current and future international students.

To read this article in full, please visit USA Today

President Trump on Monday extended a freeze on green cards for new immigrants and signed an executive order to suspend new H-1B, L-1, J and other temporary work visas for skilled workers, managers and au pairs through the end of the year.

The goal of the move is to protect 525,000 jobs as part of the White House response to job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, said a senior administration official, who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity. NPR first reported the impending order on Saturday.

“Americans have been hurt through no fault of their own due to the coronavirus,” the official said. “And the president is prioritizing getting them back into the labor supply and getting them to work and standing on their own two feet again.”

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