Johns Hopkins sues Trump Administration to block rule on foreign students

New York, July 12

Johns Hopkins University has joined a growing list of prestigious higher education institutions in the US suing the Trump Administration over its “cruel” decision not to allow foreign students to take online-only courses this fall semester.

The Trump had administration announced new rules for international students for the upcoming fall semester (September to December) that requires them to take an in-person class to remain in the country. Many American universities have scaled back or eliminated in-person classes due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Johns Hopkins University (JHU) filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday, pushing back against the Trump Administration order that would abruptly rescind accommodations for online learning during the pandemic for nearly 5,000 international students at the university and thousands more across the country.

Johns Hopkins said the policy change sending international students back to their home countries if they don’t enroll in in-person classes, “suddenly and unexpectedly” plunged Johns Hopkins, and virtually all of higher education in the United States, into chaos. Hundreds of thousands of Indian students in the US will be affected by the decision of the Trump Administration.

The JHU’s complaint seeks a temporary restraining order against the proposal by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, stating it is “arbitrary and capricious”, unlawful, and a reversal of earlier guidance upon which months of careful planning is based. — PTI

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