Attorneys General Sue Trump After Threatening to Deport Kenyan Students

President Uhuru Kenyatta and US President Donald Trump after a meeting at the White House in Washington on August 27, 2018.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and US President Donald Trump after a meeting at the White House in Washington on August 27, 2018.
Twitter

A lawsuit challenging US President Donald Trump's administration rule preventing foreign students from taking online-only courses in the fall semester (August-December) has been filed by 17 states and the District of Columbia.

A report by CNN indiicates that the multistate lawsuit that could give a reprieve to Kenyan students in the US at risk of deportation was filed in the US District Court in Massachusetts on Monday, July 13, against the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The 17 Attorney Generals led by Massachusetts' Maura Healey also seek to prevent Trump from effecting the police before the case is heard and decided.

"The federal government’s actions are arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion because they reverse previous guidance without explanation, input, or rationale – in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act – and fail to consider the need to protect public health and safety amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
Twitter

"[This is a] cruel, abrupt, and unlawful action to expel international students amidst the pandemic that has wrought death and disruption across the United States,” the suit papers read in part.

Foreign students were facing a forced departure from the US after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) modified temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students on Monday, July 6. 

The Students and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced the new directives, at the time, for students taking online courses during the fall 2020 semester.

The US Department of Homeland Security was also planning to publish the procedures and responsibilities in the Federal Register as a Temporary Final Rule.

The Trump administration had threatened to implement the new directives if the universities switch to online-only courses owing to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

This means that international students will be required to attend online classes from their own countries rather than in the US. 

Nonimmigrant students attending schools operating under normal in-person classes were directed to take a maximum of one class or three credit hours online.

Universities in the US initiated transition to online courses with Havard being among the front liners. Havard and MIT have also filed a separate lawsuit challenging the decision.

While moving to the US to take online-only courses has always been prohibited, universities disagree with the government's decision to maintin the prohibition in light of the pandemic. 

Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US
A photo of a building at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.
Photo
Harvard University
  • . .