The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) announced Friday that international students who plan to enroll only in online classes this fall will not be allowed to enter the country. The announcement came as the United States exceeded 4 million cases of coronavirus and as colleges and universities unfold plans to switch to online learning for the fall semester.
“New or initial non-immigrant students after March 9 will not be able to enter the US. To enroll in a US school. As non-immigrant students in the fall to pursue a full course of study that is 100 percent online, “ICE said in its press release.
The department also mandated that designated school officials not provide new international students with an I-20 form declaring their legal student status. This guide includes new international students from outside the US who wish to take classes online only at an educational institution certified by the Exchange Student and Visitor Program.
ICE has tried to enact a similar guide earlier this summer, saying that international students attending schools switching to online-only learning this fall would have had to transfer schools, leave the country, or possibly be deported. The Department rescinded that orientation July 14.
Now, international students who “actively enrolled” in a school in the United States on March 9 will not be affected by the orientation on Friday, ICE said.
As of November, there were more than 1 million international students in the United States, according to the Institute of International Education.
Of more than 1,250 universities in the U.S., 12% will switch to an online-only model this fall, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, which has been following the university’s plans for the upcoming semester. The University of California, Clemson University, Harvard University, and Princeton University are among the universities that move online.
In May the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a guide on how colleges and universities should approach the next semester. The least-risk option for spreading the coronavirus, according to the CDC, is for schools to “participate in virtual-only learning options, activities, and events,” and for residences to be closed when possible.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US has roughly doubled since early June, according to data monitored by Johns Hopkins University. According to the CDC, college-age students (ages 18-29) account for about 21% of cases in the U.S.
ICE’s announcement on Friday was met with criticism.
In a tweet, the American Civil Liberties Union said the Trump administration “is exploiting the pandemic to attack young immigrants” and that the new policy “will disrupt the lives of hundreds of thousands of students.” The organization said Congress “must investigate” the ban.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy described the ICE announcement as an “attack on our international students.”
“These rules are unnecessary and anti-American, and in the midst of a public health crisis there is no time to play with the future of our students,” he tweeted.
The New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Education described the news as “unbelievable and” xenophobic and illegal. “
“Only 10 days ago, @ICEgov rescinded its directive. Now, here we go again with the xenophobic and illegal antics,” the office tweeted. “We consider newly enrolled international students as part of our New Jersey family, regardless of whether they are learning online or not. ICE should, too.”
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