The Trump government has reneged on its controversial decision to deny a visa to foreign students whose classes would remain virtual at the start of the academic year due to a pandemic, a federal judge announced on Tuesday July 14.
The decision, which was announced by immigration police on July 6, had been challenged in court by Harvard and MIT universities, with the support of many other universities, teacher unions and nearly 20 states in the United States.
“The parties have reached a solution (…), the government agreed to reverse the decision “said Boston judge Allison D. Burroughs during a teleconference hearing. The judge did not give further details on the reasons for the government retreat.
The decision had caused uproar. Thousands of students were at risk of deportation, as the coronavirus epidemic continues to grow in the United States and many states have had to reinstate containment measures.
Screw turns against strangers
Harvard Universities and MIT had asked to block a decision they described as“Arbitrary and capricious”, and aimed at “Force universities to resume face-to-face teaching”, regardless of the health risks involved.
President Donald Trump, who plays his re-election in November partly on the recovery of the economy, continues to call for the reopening of schools at the start of the school year. He cited the example of several European countries which have “Open schools without problems” and threatened elected Democrats, whom he accuses of wanting to keep schools closed for political reasons, to cut their federal subsidies if they do not reopen them.
The tenant of the White House has also taken several measures against foreigners since the start of the health crisis. In June, it decided to freeze until 2021 the issuance of green cards – which offer permanent resident status in the United States – and certain work visas, especially those used in the new technology sector, with the ‘stated objective of reserving positions for the Americans.
