The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reversed course on requiring international college students to take at least some courses in person or be deported or denied visas.
The announcement did not come from ICE. Massachusetts federal district Judge Allison Burroughs, who was to hear oral arguments on the issue, announced the reversal Tuesday.
Several universities, governments and companies have sued the federal government about the change, which entangled visas, COVID-19, reopening schools and all kinds of budgets. The lawsuits charged that the new directive was arbitrary and capricious and violated a law about limits on the powers of federal agencies.
More than a million international students attend U.S. universities and many were already worried, because of the pandemic, about whether they could continue their studies.
The issue began in March when the pandemic and a rush to online instruction led ICE to release student visa holders from a requirement that they attend in-person classes to remain in the United States.
The push to again require in-person classes paralleled a push to open schools at all levels.
Michigan State University President Samuel L. Stanley had said before the reversal, “The worldwide pandemic we’re all facing together has only highlighted the need for more global collaboration, not less.”
“100 Questions and Answers About Americans” was created in the School of Journalism at Michigan State to help international students navigate U.S. culture and stereotypes about Americans. It is available from Amazon or the Front Edge Publishing bookstore.
