This archive report was first published on 10 July 2020.
Published on July 10, 2020, California is taking a stand against the Trump administration's policy that threatens the visas of foreign students whose courses move online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
US President Donald Trump's administration has been pushing for the country's education facilities to reopen despite the ongoing pandemic, which has led to a surge in infections in the south and west.
California State University, along with other institutions, plans to offer mostly online-only education to its more than 10,000 foreign students, as well as US students, this fall.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra stated, 'The Trump Administration's unlawful policy threatens to exacerbate the spread of COVID-19 and exile hundreds of thousands of college students studying in the United States.'
California's lawsuit aims to protect the education opportunities and health and well-being of students, as forcing universities and colleges to open in-person classes would threaten their finances and could turn them into 'super-spreaders' of the disease.
Harvard University and MIT have also filed a separate lawsuit against the policy, citing concerns over the safety of students and the potential consequences of reopening campuses.
