The multi-state effort, filed Monday in the United States District Court in Massachusetts against the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also seeks to prevent the policy from taking effect while the case is decided.
Monday’s lawsuit, a largely Democratic-led effort, is led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
“The Trump Administration did not even attempt to explain the basis for this senseless rule, which forces schools to choose between keeping their international students enrolled and protecting the health and safety of their campuses,” Healey said in a statement.
Attorneys general also said the guide “does not take into account the harm to international students and their families whose lives will be turned over” and that it “will also cause irreparable harm to public health and the economy” of their states.
Other states that joined Monday’s lawsuit include: Connecticut, Maryland, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Nevada, Minnesota, New Jersey, Colorado, Delaware, Oregon, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Vermont, and Michigan.
Visa requirements for students have always been strict and it is prohibited to come to the US to take courses online only. ICE kept that ban on its targeting, while providing some flexibility for hybrid models, meaning a combination of online and in-person classes.
The agency suggested that students currently enrolled in the US consider other measures, such as transferring to schools with in-person instruction.
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.
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