- More than a dozen tech companies filed a brief Monday in favor of a lawsuit to block a new Trump administration rule that requires in-person teaching for student visas.
- Under the rule, international students whose universities do not offer face-to-face classes this fall would be forced to return to their home country.
- The lawsuit, filed by Harvard and MIT, argues that the Department of Homeland Security did not adequately consider the impact of the rule on the US economy before implementing it.
- Nearly 20 tech companies, including Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Spotify and PayPal, said in their amicus report that the Trump administration’s rule would hurt their sales and their ability to recruit employees.
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Tech companies are urging a federal court to block a new Trump administration rule that would force many international students to leave the United States, arguing that it could have an irreversible long-term impact on their business.
The rule would require in-person tuition for student visas, meaning that international students whose universities do not teach in person in the fall would be forced to leave the U.S. Harvard and MIT filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge blocking the rule last week, arguing that the Department of Homeland Security did not adequately consider the economic impacts of the rule before implementing it, and more than 60 universities have echoed its concerns.
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Spotify, Paypal, and more than a dozen other tech companies filed a court report Monday in support of the lawsuit filed by Harvard and MIT. They argue that the ban “will inflict significant harm” on their businesses by reducing their customer base and hampering their ability to recruit top talent from American universities.
“America’s future competitiveness depends on attracting and retaining talented international students,” the report reads. “People who come here as international students are also essential to educate the next generation of inventors.”
Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a tweet Monday that the company signed the amicus report due to the belief that international students should have “flexibility during this pandemic.” LinkedIn and GitHub, both owned by Microsoft, also signed the report.
—Brad Smith (@BradSmi) July 13, 2020
Technology leaders have repeatedly spoken out against Trump administration policies that would hinder immigration, especially in relation to international students. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who generally avoids political statements, criticized Trump’s Muslim immigration ban when it was first implemented, as did Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
