Deporting International Students is Bad for Louisiana
The Trump administration has made no secret of its goal of reducing legal immigration to the United States. Now it is making it difficult for international students to continue their education at American colleges and universities. On Monday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued guidance for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program for Fall 2020. ICE’s rule could force international students to leave the country for the fall semester or risk deportation. According to the planned new rule, students who are unable to take in-person courses or who are attending a university that is fully online in the fall will not be allowed to remain in the United States. This is bad policy for Louisiana and for the more than 7000 international students who study here. Fortunately, this problem is easily fixed and the Trump administration should do so immediately before real damage is done.
The state of Louisiana benefits greatly from the international students who come to study at our universities. International students enrich our campuses and our state socially, culturally and economically. According to the Association of International Educators, international students contributed 264.9 million dollars to the Louisiana economy in the 2018-19 academic year. But ICE’s rule will make it very difficult for students to continue their studies. Policies that prevent or deter international students from studying in Louisiana will have a negative impact in our state at a time when we cannot afford further economic blows.
ICE’s rule is also bad for Louisiana universities. It could force university administrators to risk the safety of students, faculty, and staff by providing an incentive to hold classes in-person when it may not be safe to do so. Universities need to have maximum flexibility to help students continue their education as we weather the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic.
But most fundamentally, the policy is potentially devastating for international students who have chosen to pursue opportunities for education in Louisiana. Some students may have health risks that prevent them from attending in-person classes. Others may flounder in the attempt to continue their education at home. Students who do not have reliable or uncensored access to internet at home or who share a home and internet connection with a large family, as one of mine does, may have great difficulty succeeding in their classes. Such students may simply choose to withdraw. Others may be unable to complete their degrees with serious financial consequences for themselves, their families, and Louisiana schools. New students may be deterred from even considering Louisiana universities for their education.
To be sure, the US government normally restricts the number of online courses that international students can take. There may be good reason to do so. But any reasons that might justify such restrictions under normal circumstances are clearly outweighed by the circumstances of a global pandemic. ICE created a temporary exemption to this rule for the Spring 2020 semester. The problem is easily and reasonably solved by extending that temporary exemption through Fall 2020 or through the 2020-2021 school year if necessary.
The need to act on this cruel and unnecessary rule is urgent. The rule has already been challenged in the courts. But it is causing needless distress to international students and it may already be having an economic impact in Louisiana. The longer this issue remains unaddressed, the greater the costs will be. Students who invest in Louisiana for their education should be allowed to complete their education here.