AG Grewal Sues ICE over New Directive that Bars International Students from Attending U.S. Universities that Shift Programs Online Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Thousands of Rutgers Students Could Be Shut out of the Country, Costing School up to $200M

TRENTON – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today joined a coalition of eighteen Attorneys General in suing to block implementation of a new Directive from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requiring that international student visa holders attending college in the U.S. take all or most of their classes in-person this fall or face losing their visa status, which could leave them no choice but to disenroll and leave the country.

Announced on July 6 without the required notice and public comment period, the ICE Directive rescinds an exemption—issued by ICE on March 13, 2020—that permitted international students with F-1 and M-1 visas to remain in the U.S. while taking all or the majority of their classes online, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on in-person education.

The original exemption dovetailed with the plans of colleges, universities, and technical schools in New Jersey and across the U.S. to use online learning for the Fall 2020 semester or the 2020-2021 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.