Tufts Supports International Students in Face of ICE Rule
Tufts University has joined an amicus brief with several other institutions opposing the efforts of the Trump administration to restrict international students’ ability to enter or remain in the U.S. if all their classes are online this fall.
The lawsuit, filed by Harvard and MIT, is being heard by Judge Allison D. Burroughs of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. An initial hearing took place on July 10 and a second hearing is slated for Tuesday, July 14.
The guidance issued late in the afternoon on July 6 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would require international students with F-1 visas whose classes are “online only” in the fall to “depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status or potentially face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.” The rule would take effect in August.
“The university is opposed to any policy that forces our students out of the country due to changes made to our curriculum and programs in response to COVID-19,” President Anthony Monaco said in a message to the Tufts community on July 8. “It is a policy that seemingly ignores the impact of COVID-19 and the measures that Tufts and other colleges and universities have been forced to take to address the health crisis in our country.”