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International Students May Be Forced To Leave U.S. Under New ICE Policy On Remote Learning
By
Sophia Chang
Published Jul 7, 2020
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By
Sophia Chang
Published Jul 7, 2020
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Many of New York City’s international students may be forced to return to their home countries under the federal government’s new policy that stipulates their visas are invalid if their American institution moves completely to online learning — even during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States. The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States,” the Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a memo Monday.
International students had been “temporarily allowed to take online courses during the spring and summer semesters as US schools adapted to changes brought on by the novel coronavirus,” Business Insider reported.
The policy has dire implications for many of the country’s 1.08 million international students -- 57 percent hailing from China, India or South Korea, according to Politico -- here on F-1 student visas, including the tens of thousands in New York City. AMNY estimated there were 26,845 international students in New York City’s colleges and universities in 2017, with sizable populations at the city’s biggest schools.
“New York University is home to the highest number of international students in the United States with over 17,000 international students and scholars from over 140 different countries,” the school’s website boasts. CUNY’s schools also have more than “9,000+ international students in F and J immigration status representing more than 100 countries.” Columbia University had 11,845 enrolled international students (1,814 Undergrads, 9,973 Graduate students, 108 Non-degree) from 152 countries.
One education official called the policy by the Trump administration “horrifying.”
“On its face, the guidance released today by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is horrifying. While we would welcome more clarity about international students studying in the United States, this guidance raises more questions than it answers and unfortunately does more harm than good,” said American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell in a statement Monday. “Colleges and universities have announced and continue to announce multi-faceted, nuanced models for reopening campuses this fall. Some are proceeding with online learning only, others intend to be primarily in-person, and many others have a range of plans for hybrid models. Regrettably, this guidance provides confusion and complexity rather than certainty and clarity.”
Mitchell pointed out that international students not only contribute “greatly to this country’s intellectual and cultural vibrancy. They also yield an estimated economic impact of $41 billion and support more than 450,000 U.S. jobs.”
One international NYU doctorate student from Bombay, India said he's "extremely stressed out" over the new policy. Smaran Dayal, a fourth-year PhD student in the comparative literature program, hasn't been able to leave New York City, nor take on work to supplement his academic funding, which is linked to the academic year.
"With this lockdown, and the pandemic, we basically were basically stuck in the US, living (on) whatever little savings we have left and yeah, so this just adds to the stress of not knowing what's going to happen," Dayal said.
The expulsion of international students was almost expected, Dayal added, with each new immigration policy announced by the Trump administration.
"Every step of the way, I know that other international students as well have felt afraid of the fact that we might be next," he said. "This almost seems logical and in the sort of nationalist philosophy that they seem to be operating within -- which we're seeing in these kind of far-right nationalisms across the world, but it's particularly sad to see this happen here."
The new visa policy also will have more impact on cash-strapped schools who are less able to offer hybrid models. “Students attending schools adopting a hybrid model—that is, a mixture of online and in person classes—will be allowed to take more than one class or three credit hours online,” ICE said in the memo.
So far, NYU and Columbia have announced hybrid models, though CUNY has yet to specify what it plans to do. “Because of the fluid and variable nature of the recovery and reopening efforts, no decision has been made yet about the possibility for resumption of on-campus instruction,” CUNY said on June 23rd. SUNY said it has seven working groups trying to determine the future of its campuses.
“Iron-clad federal rules are not the answer at this time of great uncertainty. Imagine a student who starts in-person classes at a college that physically reopens,” Mitchell said. “If the college decides it must shift to remote instruction midway through the fall, this guidance could force the institution to tell that student to leave the United States and face an impossible return to another country that has closed its borders.”
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Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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