US ICE announces rules blocking new foreign students from entering the country

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 24 announced new guidelines that will block any new student planning to enrol in the online-only study from entering the country. The new Trump administration guidelines come after the ICE rescinded previous guidelines that would have sent thousands of students largely enrolled in universities and grad schools home. The ICE informed that the new rule applies to non-migrant students in new or initial status after March 9 under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). 

The ICE in a statement said, “Nonimmigrant students in new or initial status after March 9 will not be able to enter the US to enrol in a US school as a nonimmigrant student for the fall term to pursue a full course of study that is 100 per cent online”. 

Furthermore, the ICE said, “Additionally, designated school officials should not issue a Form I-20 to a nonimmigrant student in new or initial status who is outside of the US and plans to take classes at a SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program)-certified educational institution fully online”. 

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‘Abrupt and unlawful action’ 

The new guidelines come after the previous policy was repealed by the US President after several states and educational institutions sparked a flurry of litigation beginning with the suit brought by Harvard and MIT, followed by California’s public colleges and later a coalition of 17 states. Further, the Trump administration was also pressurised by business and tech companies. 

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The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had directed ICE to bar international students from staying in the country if they attend American universities that offer only online courses during the COVID-19 health crisis. The lawsuit challenged the order and called it ‘cruel, abrupt, and unlawful action to expel international students amid the pandemic’. 

However, Judge Allison Burroughs, the federal district judge in Boston reportedly announced that the two parties-Harvard, MIT and Trump administration- will return to ‘status-quo’. She further added that the policy would apply nationwide. "Both the policy directive and the frequently asked questions would not be enforced anyplace," she said, referring to the agreement between the US government and MIT and Harvard.

(Image: AP)

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