BOSTON (WHDH) - Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and 17 other attorney generals have filed a lawsuit to stop a new federal rule that would force international students out of the county if their classes are entirely online.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts against the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, seeks an injunction to stop the ruling from going into effect.
“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,” Healey said. “Massachusetts is home to thousands of international students who make invaluable contributions to our educational institutions, communities, and economy. We are taking this action today to make sure they can continue to live and learn in this country.”
ICE announced on July 6 that international students could no longer live in the U.S. and take all their classes online. The agency also demanded that educational institutions advise the federal government by July 15 whether they intend to offer only remote courses in the fall semester and to certify by Aug. 4 that upcoming coursework for international students staying in the U.S. this fall would be in-person or a hybrid of in-person and online learning in order to maintain their visa statuses.
The attorney generals involved in this lawsuit called the federal government’s action “cruel, abrupt, and unlawful.”
The suit claims the new rule places substantial harm on schools and students. It also argues that the policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to consider the need to protect public health and safety amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Joining Massachusetts in the lawsuit are the attorneys general from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Northeastern University also filed a lawsuit against the federal government over this new ruling.
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