LEARNING CURVE

17 States, Dozens of U.S. Universities Back Lawsuit Challenging Trump’s Attempt to Block Foreign Students

They’ve joined forces to block a rule that will force foreign students to leave the country if their colleges move to teach entirely online.

Dozens of U.S. universities and 17 states have thrown their support behind a lawsuit that challenges President Donald Trump’s attempt to block foreign students from staying in the country if their schools move to teach entirely online when classes resume this fall. Reuters reports that 59 U.S. universities, including seven Ivy League schools, have filed a brief that supports a lawsuit from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology filed last week. The 59 universities said in an amicus brief: “The emergency persists, yet the government’s policy has suddenly and drastically changed, throwing amici’s preparations into disarray and causing significant harm and turmoil.” More than a million foreign students attended U.S. higher education institutions in the 2018-19 school year, or around 6 percent of the entire U.S. enrollment, Reuters reports.

In addition, 17 states sued the Trump administration on Monday to block the rule that allegedly violates the Administrative Procedure Act. “The Trump administration didn’t even attempt to explain the basis for this senseless rule, which forces schools to choose between keeping their international students enrolled and protecting the health and safety of their campuses,” Maura Healey, the Massachusetts attorney general, said in a Monday statement announcing the suit.