EDITORS' CORNER
Trump admin failed to back decision with data, judge ruled
A federal judge ruled Monday to block a new U.S. Department of Homeland Security rule that would have capped international student visas at four years. The rule was set to take effect the following day.
“The government’s contention that the rule is necessary to safeguard national security borders on the absurd,” U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor wrote.
“It is based almost entirely on a small handful of anecdotes, each of which involved incidents that the new rule would do nothing to prevent or even mitigate,” he wrote.
DHS forged ahead with the rule despite receiving roughly 22,000 public comments pointing out flaws and offering alternative paths.
The judge ruled that in doing so, the department violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires government agencies to act reasonably, respond to public comments logically, and back their decisions with actual data.
The administration argued the rule was vital for national security and fraud prevention, but the court ruled that these rationales failed to withstand meaningful review.
Saylor added that the lawsuit against the department stands a strong chance of winning on multiple fronts, and allowing the rule to take effect while the litigation unfolds would inflict “immediate irreparable harm” on colleges.
“It is not difficult to imagine how that system might be abused to punish those whose viewpoints or research are disfavored by the officials making the decision — or, indeed, punish disfavored institutions,” Saylor wrote.
The Trump administration published the new rule in July to “allow DHS to better evaluate whether these nonimmigrants are maintaining status while temporarily in the United States,” according to the policy.
The rule would have eliminated the long-standing “Duration of Status” policy for international academic students, exchange visitors, and foreign media representatives, replacing it with fixed time periods of admission.
This comes amid a projected decline in international student enrollment.
NAFSA: Association of International Educators reported that international student enrollment is projected to drop by nearly 111,000 students this fall, which could cost the U.S. economy $3.4 billion and nearly 40,000 jobs, The College Fix previously reported.
However, a spokesperson from the Center for Immigration Studies told The College Fix that third party data isn’t always reliable. Further, declines in international enrollment are not necessarily a bad thing.
“When the government begins enforcing the rules of an immigration program, people who were planning to misuse that program have less incentive to come,” Marguerite Telford said.
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