The Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have sued the Trump administration for its recent move where it said international students in the US must return to their home countries in case their universities have decided to conduct the upcoming semester online.

Calling the move as illegal and cruel, the two leading educational institutes said they stand in support of their international students and other studying in the US.

On Monday, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that international students will not be allowed to stay in the country if their institutions are holding courses online this fall semester.

In a statement, the Harvard University said this decision came without any notice and “its cruelty (is) surpassed only by its recklessness”. “We believe that the ICE order is bad public policy, and we believe that it is illegal,” the university said.

The university said international students in the US face the risk of being deported to their countries along with the risk of not being able to return.

‘Order aimed at putting pressure on universities’

“It appears that it (the order) was designed purposefully to place pressure on colleges and universities to open their on-campus classrooms for in-person instruction this fall, without regard to concerns for the health and safety of students, instructors, and others,” the Harvard University said.

The university added that the Trump administration has taken this decision at a time when the United States has been setting daily records for the number of new Covid-19 cases, with more than 300,000 new cases reported since July 1.

“Moreover, if an institution pursues in-person or hybrid instruction this fall and a serious outbreak of Covid-19 occurs, the institution would face strong pressure not to switch to online instruction, as Harvard and others necessarily did this past March, because to do so would immediately place its international students in jeopardy,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, echoing similar sentiments, MIT said the ICE order was “surprising”.

MIT President L Rafael Reif said, “This ruling has potentially serious implications for MIT’s international students and those enrolled at institutions across the country.”

MIT said the ICE order “disrupts our international students’ lives and jeopardises their academic and research pursuits”.

“Our international students now have many questions – about their visas, their health, their families and their ability to continue working toward an MIT degree. Unspoken, but unmistakable, is one more question: Am I welcome? At MIT, the answer, unequivocally, is yes,” he said in a mail.

The Harvard University added that it, and many other institutions in the US, have sought to maintain a balance between addressing concerns for public health while also preserving the academic mission of teaching and scholarship.

“We have undertaken careful planning to address the unique circumstances of our community and to enable students to make educational progress safely. We have done so recognizing that the nation is in the grip of a pandemic that poses risks to the health of millions and that threatens to overwhelm our capacity to manage it,” it said.

Taking Trump administration to court

In its statement, Harvard University said it has pleadings together with MIT in the US District Court in Boston “seeking a temporary restraining order prohibiting enforcement of the order”.

“We will pursue this case vigorously so that our international students-and international students at institutions across the country-can continue their studies without the threat of deportation,” it said.

“As a university with a profound commitment to residential education, we hope and intend to resume full in-person instruction as soon as it is safe and responsible to do so. But, until that time comes, we will not stand by to see our international students’ dreams extinguished by a deeply misguided order. We owe it to them to stand up and to fight-and we will,” the statement said.

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