<MIT and Harvard file suit in favour of international students>

 

 

 in a surprising development, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that it will

not permit international students on F-1 visas to take a full online course load this fall while studying in

the United States. As I wrote yesterday, this ruling has potentially serious implications for MIT’s

international students and those enrolled at institutions across the country.

This morning, in response,  in federal court in Massachusetts. In the lawsuit, we ask the court to prevent

ICE and DHS from enforcing the new guidance and to declare it unlawful.

The announcement disrupts our international students’ lives and jeopardizes their academic and research

pursuits. ICE is unable to offer the most basic answers about how its policy will be interpreted or

implemented. And the guidance comes after many US colleges and universities either released or are

readying their final decisions for the fall – decisions designed to advance their educational mission and

protect the health and safety of their communities.

Our international students now have many questions – about their visas, their health, their families and

their ability to continue working toward an MIT degree. Unspoken, but unmistakable, is one more

question: Am I welcome?

At MIT, the answer, unequivocally, is yes.

MIT’s strength is its people – no matter where they come from. I know firsthand the anxiety of arriving in

this country as a student, excited to advance my education, but separated from my family by thousands

of miles. I also know that welcoming the world’s brightest, most talented and motivated students is an

essential American strength.