Updates: Fall 2020 SEVP Guidance
Dear students & scholars,
We understand that the new guidance and directives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued on July 6, 2020, has caused much anxiety for many of you. We share your frustrations and concerns and are making continued efforts to support you in every way that we can. We would like to share what actions ISSS and the University of Utah are currently taking to advocate for our international students:
- Friday, July 10th: The University of Utah joined an amicus brief (“friend of court”) filed by the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration in support of a lawsuit by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This suit challenges the modification to exemptions for non-immigrant students enrolled at higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are expecting for the U.S. Federal Court to make a preliminary ruling on this case by Wednesday, July 15th. We will share updates on this case and how it may impact the recent DHS guidance on the ISSS website.
- Monday, July 13: The University of Utah is joining other PAC-12 institutions and the University of California higher education system in litigation in California where we will be a Plaintiff. ISSS is actively working with The U’s Office for General Counsel to provide factual information on the issues in the case, including the negative impacts that the new DHS guidance will have on our students.
- ISSS is also working actively with the entire U of U campus community to ensure that classes are available in all programs so that international students can meet the DHS guidance requirements (as it stands today - July 13, 2020). Significant effort has been made to spread information quickly to the campus community about this guidance and how it will negatively impact our students.
- President Watkins will be hosting a Town Hall on Friday, July 17th at 10:00 am to discuss this new DHS guidance and how it impacts international students. You can register for the webinar here. Please note that registration to participate in this event is limited to the first 500 attendees. If you are unable to register for this event, you will be directed to watch the live stream of the even at Utah.edu/live.
- Additional actions are also being made to advocate and support all of our international students, both as an ISSS Office as well as individual citizens. Efforts include joining in advocacy with other institutions, as well as sending messages to our Congressional Representatives encouraging them to oppose the DHS policy guidance issued on July 6, 2020.
We encourage for you to join in advocacy efforts as well! You can email your Congressional Representatives (based on your U.S. address), or also send a Tweet. Social media is a powerful way to communicate with lawmakers- especially for international students, as non-citizens. You can find your elected officials using this tool. You will need to input your zip code (based on your U.S. address) to find the correct elected official. This tool will also provide the Twitter handle of your elected official. If you would like to engage them through social media, Tweet at them to oppose the #StudentBan. Here are a few sample Twitter templates that you may customize and use:
"As an #intlstudent at @UUtah from [insert your country], I am helping make America great. I urge [insert lawmaker Twitter handle(s)] to oppose the #StudentBan. #intled"
"A projected 25% decline in Fall 2020 #ins tlstudent enrollment would= a loss of ~$10 billion & 114,000 jobs. The #StudentBan will deepen that decline. The U.S. can’t afford the loss of jobs & innovation. [insert lawmaker Twitter handle], urge @DHSGov to rescind the #StudentBan."
As we learn new information about this dynamic and evolving situation, we will continue to update you on the ISSS U.S. Immigration News webpage. We will also continue to update our COVID-19 FAQ page to reflect any new information. We encourage you to monitor these websites for any further updates.
Sincerely,
ISSS Staff