Major technology companies and 17 U.S. states are trying to prevent the administration of President Donald Trump from expelling foreign students.
A coalition of US states ruled by Democrats, major business groups, and technology has joined the legal effort to prevent the Trump administration from implementing a rule that bars entry to foreign students who will register their studies online in the next semester.
It appears that the rule the administration has taken was a push to force universities to hold their lessons directly, and to avoid lessons only online.
Last week, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed a lawsuit to halt this rule, arguing that they needed to place public health a top priority.
And on Monday, 19 groups, including Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Paypal, provided a friendly note to support the Harvard cause, and in addition, teachers ’unions and other groups and educational institutions submitted notes to support the university’s petition Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In a separate context, the Massachusetts Attorney General, Mora Healy, announced that her office is leading a group of 17 states, and Washington, D.C., to request a court order “to stop the entry of the entire base into effect.”
The case argues that the administration failed to explain a justification for its movement, and to ensure public health, by insisting on direct teaching, during the pandemic.
In its announcement, the Immigration and Customs Agency said that the US State Department will not issue visas for students of study programs that will take place entirely online in the fall, and such students will not be permitted to enter the country.
Many see this measure as an attempt by the White House to pressure educational institutions reluctant to reopen their doors amid the outbreak of the “Covid 19” epidemic.