UCA Statement on Trump Administration’s New Visa Rules Regarding International Students
Washington, DC
July 9th, 2020
Update on July 14th: Under the huge and growing pressure from and multiple legal complaints by universities, corporations and civic organizations, and one day after UCA joined the lawsuit supporting Harvard and MIT by filing its own amicus brief on July 13 against the government, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) withdrew its new regulation regarding foreign students in America. This allows foreign students to continue their study in America uninterrupted. UCA would like to thank those Chinese students and scholars who helped UCA preparing its amicus brief. UCA will continue to monitor the developments of this matter and others impacting Chinese students in America.
Click for Amicus Brief of United Chinese Americans in Support of Plaintiff (PDF)
United Chinese Americans (UCA), a national organization representing people with Chinese heritage in America, condemns the recent directive by the Trump Administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would strip the international students of their U.S. visa or compel them to leave the United States, if their coursework were entirely online.
The ill-conceived directive would adversely impact more than one million international students in the United States. Having the largest share of the international student body, with 369,548 students or about one third of the total foreign students in America in 2019, Chinese students would undoubtedly bear the brunt of such a decision. Many Chinese students have reached out to UCA, expressing their concerns, such as experiencing anxiety, fear of possible deportation, lack of safe or easy international travel options, and potential interruption to complete their education in America.
“It is shameful the Trump Administration continues to use foreign students to politicize the pandemic and score political points. These students, thousands of miles away from their families and loved ones, deserve our outmost sympathy and support during this pandemic. They should have the option to remain in this country to complete their education in the safest and most undisrupted manner possible,” says Haipei Shue, President of UCA.
UCA calls on Chinese student and scholar associations as well as individual students throughout the United States to contact UCA immediately to share their concerns and consider joining UCA for probable legal actions against the Trump Administration. UCA would like to offer more support to Chinese students and their associations during this most difficult time of the pandemic. Please call us at (202) 642-5060 or e-mail us at info@ucausa.org
Thanks to UCA and many universities who take lead in opposing the new disturbing student visa order from current administration. International students are contributors to the growing influence of American intellecturals and values. They are intergral to the drivers that have made America great up to now.
This policy by the administration is deplorable, another example of targeting a group of decent people without much power to fight back. The Almighty God will eventually right the wrong – people has to realize that only with love and unity can the human race survive.
I like your passage.