July 14, 2020

The Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded guidance issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this month that would have prohibited foreign students from taking online-only coursework in the fall, walking back an announcement that elicited a flurry of lawsuits and withering criticism from schools, lawmakers and states.

During a hearing Tuesday afternoon in which he was expected to rule on whether to block the recent guidance for student visas, Judge Dale Burroughs of the U.S. District Court in Boston said ICE had agreed to scrap the directive. Burroughs said the government and plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by Harvard and MIT had reached an agreement, rendering the case, one of the several challenges against the policy, moot.

Tuesday's announcement was a fast reversal for the Trump administration, and a significant victory for a spirited campaign mounted by colleges, universities, states and students opposed to the rules. They had accused the administration of failing to consider the challenges faced by schools and students during the coronavirus pandemic, which has upended in-person classroom.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-will-reverse-rules-for-foreign-students-government-tells-court/