Washington: A group of 136 US Democratic congressmen and 30 senators, including Indian-origin Kamala Harris, has urged the administration to reverse its "cruel" order that bars international students from staying in the country if they do not have in-person classes to attend.
The lawmakers, in separate letters to the acting secretary, Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf and acting secretary, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Matthew Albence on Thursday, expressed concern over the ICE's recently announced modifications to the Student Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP).
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The new guidelines have created panic among international students, a majority of whom come from China and India.
In its July 6 order, the ICE declared that nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online or taking only online courses will not be permitted to take a full course load and remain in the United States.
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The modifications also limited many students at normally operating schools from taking more than one class or three credit hours online in order to remain in the country.
The letter, signed by senators Robert Menendez, Cory Booker and Harris, the Indian-origin senator from California among others, expressed concern that the ICE's guidance is motivated not by the public health considerations, but rather by animus towards non-citizens and immigrants.
It said that the move is a flagrant attempt to hold international students hostage in order to force schools to reopen even as COVID-19 cases are rising.
"The ICE's announcement of their plans to force out or deport international students who remain at US colleges and universities and who are taking a full online course load is cruel and unconscionable.
"These students are already in the United States, are established members of educational communities, and have been determined through the visa screening process to pose no danger to the United States," the senators wrote.
In the 2018-2019 academic year, there were over a million international students in the US.
We call out this policy for what it is: a cruel, senseless, and xenophobic attempt to use non-citizens as political pawns in order to financially coerce colleges and universities to reopen campuses this fall, despite what is best for public health.
"This policy is dangerous to the health and well-being of numerous communities," they said.
The House letter is co-led by congresswoman Linda Sanchez, Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee Chairwoman Susan Davis, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, and Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren.
Observing that the students and schools are facing unprecedented challenges, the letter said that the ICE's announcements only add to these burdens, and potentially put more students at risk.
The ICE's SEVP exemptions for the spring and summer semesters permitting students to take more online courses than usually permitted was sensible given the risks of the pandemic.
PTI
