BOSTON, MASS. — On Tuesday the Trump administration rescinded a controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement rule that would have forced international students to leave the country if their schools did not offer in-person classes, the Associated Press reports.
The decision was announced at the start of a hearing in a federal lawsuit in Boston brought by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Eight federal lawsuits were filed and opposition mounted from hundreds of universities over the policy. The reversal, according to U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, is a “return to the status quo.” A lawyer representing the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said only that the judge’s characterization was correct.
The announcement brings relief to thousands of foreign students who had been at risk of being deported from the country, along with hundreds of universities that were scrambling to reassess their plans for the fall in light of the policy.
Shortly after the announcement, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig posted the following via Twitter:
Manchester is home to 8 colleges and universities, and for @SNHU alone, international students have a $35M economic impact on our area. I’m glad this heartless policy was rescinded. #nhpolitics
