A win for international students as Trump administration revokes student visa rules

Weeks ago, the Trump administration had announced changes in the visa rules, which stated international students would not be able to stay in the USA for the fall semester had their classes been moved online. Just days after this announcement, the US government rescinded the ban on international students that would have deported international students had they been enrolled in all online classes.

The government’s announcement received backlash from universities and higher education advocates who believed that said this step would cause them to lose millions of dollars in revenue. According to the data gathered by the US Department of Commerce, international students contributed nearly USD 45 billion to the US economy and supported around 458,290 jobs during the 2018-19 academic year. The number of international students studying in the US was around 1.1 million in the 2018-19 academic year, making up 5.5% of the total US higher education population.

After widespread criticism for its decision and facing multiple lawsuits by major universities like Harvard and MIT, the federal government had no choice but to drop its plans to deport or deny entry to international students who were enrolled in a university or college offering only online courses this fall.

What caused the Trump Administration to drop the student visa rule?

Last week's shift had caused quite an upheaval in the higher education sector in the US, enraging many lawmakers and institutions who deemed the rules unfair for foreign students. Some believe these revisions to the visa rules were not just forcing the universities to reopen at the time of a global pandemic but were also aimed at reducing legal immigration to the States. And this time, caught in the crossfire were the students who would have faced the brunt of Trump’s anti-immigrant policies which have already affected foreign workers and seekers before this.

Having faced a slew of lawsuits challenging the policy, the guidance issued by the ICE saw an abrupt reversal from its earlier statement, allowing international students to remain in the US and study remotely.

The announcement came from US District Court Judge Allison Burroughs during a brief hearing over a lawsuit brought against the government by Harvard and MIT to block the order. The move against the guidance drew support from institutions and universities across different states along with the country’s tech giants including Google and Facebook.

A firm stance taken by numerous higher education institutions was instrumental in causing the US government to rethink the changes in the visa policy for international students. Many, however, still believe that there is still a long way to go. At present, the Trump administration has backtracked on its decision due to the swift action taken by the universities and the visible outrage from authorities across the country.

India and the US

The key component that ties India and the US is the partnership between the countries in the higher education sector. The number of Indian students in the US currently stands at around 202,014 which is second only to China with 369,548 students. In the last two decades, students from India who have gone to pursue higher education in the US have been the harbingers of strong collaboration in terms of technology and innovation. And with the reversal of the steps, for now, it has further strengthened the bilateral partnership between the two countries.

In reality, however, these threats to immigrants and foreign students continue to loom, given the government’s stance against them. But as long as people continue to fight against the unjust policies that come up time and again, especially the ones aimed at immigrants and foreigners, there is still hope. These joint efforts have given me hope that the entire higher education sector can continue to work together to advocate for a brighter future.

Likely outcome for the US

The strict guidelines, even though have been retracted by the government, managed to bring to the forefront a lot of mixed reactions from across the world. The question that has been brought up now is how many students will end up choosing a country with more flexible policies towards international students such as the UK, Ireland, and Australia, amongst others. Till then it remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will come up with even tighter immigration rules and if this will further dilute the “American dream.”