Supporting all students at risk of detainment, deportation, and visa complications. XENOPHOBIA HAS NO PLACE IN SCHOOLS. #Students2Stay #SanctuaryNow #Education4All
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Our #Students2Stay Action & Media Toolkit is the one-stop set of materials for students at Stanford and other universities to use to release collective calls to action and awareness in their communities.
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WHO'S A PART OF #STUDENTS2STAY?
The #Students2Stay campaign was organized by immigrant and nonimmigrant students in higher education in California who will not allow the Trump administration to go unchecked. The current goal of this campaign is to get the DHS to rescind the recent ICE regulations which impact students. While this movement was spurred by the announcement in early July 2020, we recognize the fight to support international students is the same one to support undocumented students, students who come from mixed-status families, first-generation and/or low-income students, and young Black and brown people.
We aim to build on the work which has already been done throughout history and at the grassroots level, and to center the voices directly impacted by harmful legislation and school climate and culture. A person’s educational journey, especially their non-academic experiences, influences the range of communities around them. sends ripples across the communities around them. We are constantly asking, “who are the most marginalized groups?” and “how do we achieve long-term change?” Where there are work-arounds, there are always whole solutions. When one of us is denied justice, we are all denied justice. Our community is strong because of each of its constituents, no matter where they call home. We are resilient because we know we can win.
ACTION + MEDIA TOOLKIT
A week of action (July 13-17) on the university, county/state, and national levels before institutions of higher education across the nation begin the 2020-21 academic year
Aim for schools to take legal action by July 17, continue on county/state and national level until ICE restores student immigrant protections.
Please contact [email protected] for anything
Hashtags: #Students2Stay #SanctuaryNow #Education4All
Instagram: @Students2Stay
Twitter: @Students2Stay
Background
TIMELINE
On July 6, 2020 the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released new changes to Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) guidelines, impacting F-1 and M-1 students intending to pursue a full online course load for Fall 2020.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 7/6/2020 | In a news release, ICE announces policy changes for international students on F-1 and M-1 visas pursuing full online course loads in Fall 2020. |
| 7/7/2020 | Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey condemns the new policies and announces that her office is preparing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration. |
| 7/8/2020 | Harvard and MIT file a lawsuit in federal court against the Trump Administration regarding the new policy changes. Multiple peer institutions announce that they are filing amicus briefs in support of Harvard and MIT’s lawsuit.The University of California system also announces plans to file a lawsuit. |
| 7/9/2020 | California becomes the first state to file a lawsuit against the Trump Administration in response to the policy changes. |
Background
Breakdown of ICE's Policy Changes
All quotations are from ICE’s press release from July 6, 2020, which is linked here or in the title above.
QUOTATION #1
“Nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States. The U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States. Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status. If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.”
EFFECT
International students can and will be stopped at airports/during travel.
Those who have returned to their home countries may not be permitted to re-enter the U.S.
QUOTATION #2
“Nonimmigrant F-1 students attending schools operating under normal in-person classes are bound by existing federal regulations. Eligible F-1 students may take a maximum of one class or three credit hours online.”
EFFECT
Eligible students whose schools are operating in-person can only enroll in ONE online class.
QUOTATION #3
“Nonimmigrant F-1 students attending schools adopting a hybrid model—that is, a mixture of online and in person classes—will be allowed to take more than one class or three credit hours online. These schools must certify to SEVP, through the Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status,” certifying that the program is not entirely online, that the student is not taking an entirely online course load this semester, and that the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make normal progress in their degree program. The above exemptions do not apply to F-1 students in English language training programs or M-1 students pursuing vocational degrees, who are not permitted to enroll in any online courses."
EFFECT
For schools operating in-person and online, they must verify that their international students are taking BOTH in-person and online classes, meaning that international students, regardless of health concerns or restrictions, must attend in-person classes in order to stay enrolled and avoid deportation.
QUOTATION #4
“Schools should update their information in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) within 10 days of the change if they begin the fall semester with in-person classes but are later required to switch to only online classes, or a nonimmigrant student changes their course selections, and as a result, ends up taking an entirely online course load. Nonimmigrant students within the United States are not permitted to take a full course of study through online classes. If students find themselves in this situation, they must leave the country or take alternative steps to maintain their nonimmigrant status such as a reduced course load or appropriate medical leave.”
EFFECT
If an international student’s institution changes to online-only classes, or a student cannot take any in-person classes for any reason, they have 10 days to either leave the country or transfer to a different institution offering in-person classes.
Main Points of ICE’s Policy Changes
Nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 Visa-holding students whose schools are going online-only this fall must depart the United States or consider other measures such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction.
The U.S will not issue visas to students enrolled in schools that are fully-online.
Nonimmigrant F-1 students going to “hybrid” schools (both in-person and online classes) must remain in their institutions unless their school closes down or switches to fully online. If that happens, these students must leave the country or take a medical leave.
via @lananh.dinh on Instagram
What have schools done so far?
Harvard, MIT, and Northeastern filed an Injunctive Relief in the federal District Court of Massachusetts, to which Stanford has committed providing an amicus curiae, or testimony in support
The University of California (UC) announced plans for a similar lawsuit, and the federal District Court of Northern California has sued in collaboration other state school systems
Several schools have announced the creation of low-credit courses international students may enroll in in order to work around the new regulations and released statements of solidarity with their student bodies