University of San Diego joins lawsuit opposing deportation of foreign students

The University of San Diego on Monday joined 20 other schools in suing the federal government to block its plan to revoke the visas of thousands of international students if they are only able to take online courses this fall.

The Trump administration directed the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be prepared to deport such students, even though the move could have a devastating financial impact on schools nationwide.

USD is preparing to offer a mix of in-person and online courses this fall. But those plans could be scuttled by the coronavirus pandemic, which is growing worse in California. The school says it will be ready to stick with a largely online only curriculum, if necessary.

Revoking visas under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) “will do irreparable harm to students, universities and our country,” USD President James T. Harris III said in a statement.

“It also demonstrates a lack of regard for the remarkable contributions international students make to our campus community. Their diversity, innovation, and ingenuity make our academic environment stronger, and we would be challenged to fulfill our vision to set the standard as an engaged, contemporary Catholic university without them.”

USD joined a coalition of 20 schools in the western US, which range from such research powers as Stanford, Caltech and Arizona State University to small liberal arts schools like Pomona College and Pitzer College.

The legal move follows similar lawsuits filed by the University of California system, Harvard, MIT and others.

USD says that it had 729 international students on F1 visas during fiscal 2019, which represents a significant portion of the roughly 9,000 students the school had last fall. The largest number of foreign students came from China, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Prior to the directive by the Trump administration, USD had suffered $17 million in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, a figure that could eventually double, according to Harris. The losses would grow deeper if international students lose their visas.

The issue also is causing deep concern at UC San Diego, where nearly 9,000 of the school’s 39,000 students are from other countries. About 5,600 of those students are from China. Collectively they play a key role at UCSD, one of the nation’s 10 largest research universities.

UCSD also will try to offer a mix of in-person and online classes this fall. The campus says it will spend up to $2 million a month to offer COVID-19 testing to 65,000 students, faculty and staff.