On Monday, July 6, the International students’ community in the U.S. learned that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), issued new rules on international students. Those international students that attending schools that are operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States.
That news caused a lot of stress, panic, and anxiety to many of us who are international students. According to the ICE newsroom, this decision was due to the global Pandemic, COVID-19, affecting the whole world.
For me, it was clear that such a decision had no careful considerations or whatsoever (in other words, it was a STUPID decision). And I can explain it.
Values
First, every year thousands of students from all over the world come to attend school in the U.S.
The United States is condemned in a good way to keep open doors to international students because we bring intellectual values, cultural values, and economic values. And these values elevate the reputation of the universities and to the country.
Proof of that is SpaceX, Moderna, Stripe, Robinhood, WeWork, and many other companies founded by international students. It promotes the universities at a global level and boosts the U.S economy. Absolutely nothing to lose other than adding value to it.
Economics consequences
Second, this decision would also compromise the job of many people in this country. According to the Association of International Educators (NAFSA), International students in the U.S. contributed nearly $41 billion to the national economy in the 2018-2019 academic year.
The global pandemic has already negatively impacted the schools’ budget, if not the country. By ordering international students to leave the country, it would add to the economic stress that universities are already facing and force universities to lay off faculties and staff. Moreover, this decision would not only increase unemployment in the country and certainly interrupt millions of international students’ education.
An inconvenience
Last, there are Coronavirus Travel Restrictions across the Globe. Many of us cannot even return to our own countries because of the travel restrictions, something that I can’t believe that ICE didn’t know about it when they drew these STUPID guidelines.
The voice of reason
Today July 14, the Government withdrew the new restrictions on online-only instruction for foreign students one week after ICE published the new rule. The withdrawal of the new rules resulted from the pressure of more than 200 universities led by Harvard and MIT that filed a lawsuit against the Government.
So, to the Government here is my recommendation:
Any time you want to amend, modify or adjust a policy that affects International students in the U.S., call universities, consult with designated school official (DSO), include international students (I’m a policymaker, feel free to call me) to help find common ground that works for all because otherwise, it can be catastrophic to the country.
