an unexpected announcement by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> (ICE) \u2014 and possibly a move with major ramifications for his future.<\/p>\nThe US immigration service announced on Monday the end of an exception that came into effect with the onset of social distancing measures due to the coronavirus pandemic. Usually, young people from abroad are only issued a student visa to the US if they choose a course of study that requires in-person attendance.<\/p>\n
During the pandemic, as nearly all universities were forced to switch their teaching\u00a0to online courses, this rule was not yet applied. Practically any classroom instruction was eliminated, but students from abroad were allowed to complete their semester despite online-only learning. Up to now, it had been assumed in US academia that this exemption would continue to apply. After all, the health risk posed by the coronavirus is far from being eliminated \u2014\u00a0especially not in the US \u2014\u00a0which has by far the most confirmed COVID-19 cases\u00a0and virus-related deaths than any country in the world.<\/p>\n
But on Monday the ICE declared the exception would end. For the fall semester, which in most US universities begins in late August, the following applies: Foreign students who can only attend online courses due to the pandemic are not allowed to continue their studies in the USA and must leave the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Ibarra understood what was at stake.\u00a0“The anxiety started piling up,” he says. The linguist is in the sixth year of working towards his doctoral degree, but has previously completed other degrees in the US and has worked as a researcher and lecturer at various universities across the country. He has lived in the US for almost 25 years. For Ibarra, the US \u2014 not Mexico, where he was born \u2014 is home. He was deeply unsettled by the news of the strict regulation. “I had deep concern for my future.”<\/p>\n
That night, after finding out the news, Ibarra hardly slept at all. As a doctoral student in his final year, he no longer has courses in the strict sense, but rather consulting hours with professors from his field of study. Should he have to pack his bags now?<\/p>\n
Harvard, MIT sue Trump administration<\/strong><\/p>\nThis is also the question for\u00a0foreign students at Harvard University. The renowned Ivy League school, just outside Boston, will only offer courses online in the coming semester due to the coronavirus pandemic. Foreign students enrolled at the university are therefore subject to the ICE regulation and would theoretically have to leave the US within the next few weeks.<\/p>\n
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The statue of John Harvard, the namesake of Harvard University, wears a mask. The iconic university has remained cautious and will only offer online courses during the upcoming semester due to COVID-19<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But Harvard does not want to leave its international students in the lurch. So, together with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the university is suing the federal government over the Trump administration\u2019s new policy. Harvard University President Lawrence S. Bacow said the sudden end of the exception was politically motivated and a way to force universities to offer face-to-face courses “without regard to concerns for the health and safety of students, instructors and others.”<\/p>\n
‘You belong here’\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nOther universities in the US have also promised to assist their foreign students.\u00a0Princeton Theological Seminary President M. Craig Barnes wrote to his student body on Thursday: “To our international students, I want to assure you that the Seminary will do everything within its power to ensure that you can continue your education here. You are cherished members of our community, and you belong here.”<\/p>\n
German student Lena Zwarg is beginning her second master’s degree at the theological seminar in August. She is confident that she can continue studying in the US, as Princeton Theological Seminary offers a hybrid program: some of her courses will take place online, others, with a maximum of 10 students, will be held in person.<\/p>\n
In an emergency, she could travel back to Germany on short notice and continue her studies online from her parents’ home. But many students who are now facing forced departure would not have that option. Some students, Zwarg says, have no one in their home country to stay with. “A lot of people don’t have the funds to even buy a plane ticket” on such short notice, she says. “That’s a huge amount of stress and anxiety, not knowing what’s happening.”<\/p>\n
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DW \u2014 The Trump administration has said that many foreign university students in the US will have to leave the country if their classes are held online. Students and universities are outraged.<\/p>\n