SUBJECT:

Department of Homeland Security Reversal of International Student Visa Order

University of California Board of Regents Chair John A. Pérez and President Janet Napolitano issued the following joint statement today (July 14) on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s decision to rescind a directive that would have forced international students to leave the country if their schools held all classes online due to COVID-19:

“This sudden reversal by ICE is a win for common sense and for public health. Revoking the visas of international students in the midst of a pandemic would have put students’ futures, their communities’ health, and the U.S. economy in further jeopardy. College and university leaders must be allowed to make decisions about campus operations that are guided by public health experts — not by a hastily drafted, arbitrary and mean-spirited policy."

“UC will continue putting our students’ health and safety first — and we will be keeping a watchful eye on what the administration might propose next should we need to step in again.”