The Trump administration recently announced that it would deport all international students who were in the U.S. taking online courses only. This policy would have impacted thousands of international students who, under normal circumstances, would attend schools and universities across the U.S. in-person. However, in light of the ongoing pandemic, many schools had decided to continue distance learning in the fall, requiring students to take their courses online.
The policy was immediately met with backlash from universities and the public. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard challenged the policy guidance in a lawsuit. The administration found itself unable to explain why such a rule is legal—so it backed down and rescinded its rule. In a win for the universities and international students, the government will no longer require in-person education during the pandemic, if schools are temporarily modifying the structure due to COVID-19. Though this is an obvious win and battle we wish universities and legal teams did not have to spend their time on, we are motivated and optimistic when we see folks organize and win.