Despite the ongoing pandemic, ICE recently announced that students attending college in America with an M-1 or F-1 visa will be eligible for deportation if their programs shift to an all-virtual format next school year. This is not a new rule, but was temporarily suspended due the virus and now will be reinstated while the pandemic is still in full swing. Many schools plan to lean on virtual classes in the fall to avoid the health risks associated with gatherings in enclosed spaces, so this announcement throws many international students into a state of uncertainty over their futures. As the president of UW said, “this and other recent immigration-related actions…are pointless, heartless and a betrayal of the nation’s values”
Universities across the country have expressed outrage; Harvard, MIT, and Northeastern have already filed a lawsuit against this announcement. To pressure ICE and the Trump administration into rescinding this rule, we’re putting a call out to all college/university/vocational school alumni or parents/relatives of alumni: Contact the dean of your college/university/vocational school and demand that they resist this rule by speaking out against it, attaching your school to the existing lawsuit, and developing a plan to circumvent the rule should it not be rescinded. Alumni opinion has a great deal of weight to colleges and universities as they depend on alumni donations to stay afloat.
ACTION: Demand Your University/Vocational School Protect its International Students from Deportation
Contact the dean or chancellor of the school you attend/attended: Usually there will be an email address or contact form for college leadership accessible from the main web page. If you can’t find a direct contact method, @ your college or dean on twitter!
Suggested script:
“Hi, my name is [NAME] and I am an alum/student of [PROGRAM] at [SCHOOL]. I hold this institution to a high standard, and I would like to see leadership take action to protect their international students. ICE recently announced that international students can be deported if their programs are entirely virtual due to COVID-19 in the coming school year. [SCHOOL] should resist this ruling and calm the worries of its international students by 1) publicly condemning ICE’s announcement, 2) joining Harvard and MIT’s lawsuit attempting to stop the ruling, and 3) developing a plan to shield international students from the new rule, perhaps by offering a hybrid virtual/in-person approach for those students who need it.”
Background
UW’s response: https://www.washington.edu/president/2020/07/07/rule-ends-visa-waiver/
The lawsuit: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/07/08/harvard-mit-international-students-ice/
The announcement: https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2020/07/06/foreign-students-at-schools-with-online-only-classes-must-transfer-or-face-deportation/#7db9c55f7d87
