The White House Just Caved on Its Plan to Kick Out Thousands of International Students

The policy would have forced foreigners to leave the country if their schools held classes virtually.

Students walk past the "Great Dome" on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2017.Charles Krupa/AP

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The Trump administration is rescinding its controversial new policy that would have forced international students to leave the country if their schools did not return to in-person classes this fall.  

On Tuesday afternoon, the Justice Department was supposed to be in court to defend the rule against a lawsuit brought by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Instead, Judge Allison Burroughs announced at the hearing that the government had agreed to rescind the policy only eight days after it was unveiled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The abrupt reversal means that students will be able to remain in the United States regardless of whether their schools decide to reopen in the fall. More than 200 universities were supporting the lawsuit brought by Harvard and MIT.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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