NEWS

Local universities support legal action against new ‘xenophobic’ ICE rules

Jordyn Brown
jbrown@registerguard.com
The University of Oregon campus is beginning to show a few signs of life. Parts of the EMU are open to visitors with masks and the "Closed" signs are no longer in place on the grounds. [Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard] - registerguard.com

The University of Oregon is joining 177 colleges and universities in supporting a legal complaint against U.S. Department of Homeland Security to fight new federal rules that would force international students to leave the U.S. if they’re not enrolled in any in-person courses.

UO leaders argue the rules are unnecessary and xenophobic, especially considering many college classes have been remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 178 universities filed the amicus brief Friday in support of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s legal complaint against DHS. Other area schools that signed onto the brief include Oregon State University, Lewis & Clark College, Portland Community College, Pacific Lutheran, Reed College and Western Oregon University.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported the coming change Monday, which stoked outrage from universities in Oregon and the U.S. Higher education institutions are reeling from the financial impacts of the pandemic and expect to continue leaning on remote classes in the fall.

UO also announced Friday that it is planning to offer a one-credit, in-person course for fall term with a waived tuition fee that “will help (students) with online learning skills.“

“These skills are important for degree progression for every major, given how much we all rely on online forms of interaction and learning,” the course description said.

“We think this is outrageous,” said Dennis Galvan, UO’s vice provost for international affairs. He called the rules “xenophobic” and “draconian.”

“There's no public health reason, there's no educational reason for this,” he said. “It seems to us like ridiculous, punitive targeting, and that's why we're going to do everything we can to fight it, while we do everything we can to safeguard the presence and the academic success of these students.”

The language that came out is “near final,” Galvan said, which is more finished than has been typical for new immigration rules the past few years. But because it has not yet been published in the Federal Register, there’s still possibility for change.

Diverse campuses, worlds of thought at stake

International students made up 5.5% of the total U.S. student body at higher education institutions in the 2018-2019 school year, accounting for more than 1.09 million students, according to an Institute of International Education report, which was supported and funded by the U.S. Department of State.

International student enrollment at U.S. colleges has been in steep decline for years, due to influences like tariffs and cost, as well as from rhetoric international families see in the U.S. prompting them to choose somewhere else such as Canada or Australia for study.

For the 2019-2020 school year, UO had 1,769 international students, the college’s data shows. This includes undergraduate and graduate students and is down from 3,259 students in 2015.

Oregon State University has about 3,500 international students, said spokesman Steve Clark, and data shows its international student population has for the most part increased over the years.

“These international students are really important to our academic mission if you're going to be a top research university, you've got to be globally connected, ” Galvan of the UO said. “They contribute so much to our classrooms and dorms and conversations, whether they're in person or remote, and they are a significant source of diversity, and giving everyone an opportunity to get to know the world is really important these days.”

>>Related: Higher ed has fewer international students and its making major impact

On top of bringing important global perspectives to the classroom and campus activities, colleges could take a financial hit from these rules. International students pay the same in tuition and fees as domestic out-of-state students about $36,615 a year. However, with expenses such as on-campus housing, health insurance, supplies and books, international students could pay up to $55,000 in a year to attend.

In 2018, international students also contributed $41 billion to the U.S. economy and and supported 458,290 jobs.

In a statement Wednesday, UO President Michael Schill called the federal announcement “shameful” and one that will cause “financial harm” to already-struggling institutions.

But international students’ impact on a college campus is more than just a chunk of tuition dollars. Forcing international students out would impact research, student groups and go against the mission of the university.

“We are all working to ensure safe instructional formats for all students. Yet this new guidance targets one population for sudden exclusion if a university makes decisions for safety to move instruction online,” Schill said.

“It has no sound justification in health or educational policy. It will cause devastating disruption to the educational and research experience of University of Oregon international students already in the United States, as well as those looking to come to the UO.”

Colleges take counteractions

A handful of colleges and state officials have said they will take legal action to sue the immigration department over these changes.

Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are suing in federal court. Oregon senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici signed a letter this week with more than 90 lawmakers in the House and Senate calling on ICE and U.S. Department of Homeland Security to withdraw the new rules. Rep. Pete DeFazio and Rep. Earl Blumenauer also signed different letters pushing back on the new rules.

UO and OSU are considering ways to similarly push back and coordinate with other universities and the state for legal action.

“We understand our state government is looking at this right now, there are universities in the PAC-12 that are coming together around this issue ... and nationally,” OSU’s Clark said. “So, Oregon State is going to collaboratively work with universities and our state government, our congressional leaders to take the most effective action possible, including legal action.”

UO’s Galvan echoed this.

In the event the rules are finalized as-is, UO and OSU are ensuring they have options for international students and are communicating with them via email and social media to get word out about support and options.

“We're just trying to make sure they know exactly what's happening,” Galvan said. “First, that they do not need to leave the United States. It's easy to read the headline and think ’Oh my gosh, I gotta go.’ No, they can stay. Second, we're going to make sure that they have enrollment options in the fall term that enable them to continue their studies.”

Both schools have plans for in-person instruction come fall, and some courses that take a hybrid approach (partially in-person and partially remote), which would satisfy the new requirement for international students.

UO also stated it will be reviewing each international student’s fall enrollment to make sure it’s aligned with the new rules and contacting any who need to make adjustments.

Contact reporter Jordyn Brown at jbrown@registerguard.com or 541-338-2203, and follow her on Twitter @thejordynbrown and Instagram @registerguard.Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.