ASA Department Statement: Opposing ICE's Decision on International Students
July 2020
The ASA faculty and staff would like to amplify the growing condemnation of a recent measure announced on July 6, 2020 by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) that rescinds COVID-19 exemptions for international students with F-1 and M-1 visas, and requires them to enroll in at least one course in person. If the student is unable to take in-person instruction this coming fall, the student will be deported or barred from entering or reentering the country.
https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/bcm2007-01.pdf
We, the faculty and staff of Asian American Studies, are outraged, and condemn this policy.
This unjust policy that requires over one million international students to take at least one in person class is part of a long list of politicized and xenophobic immigration policies administered by the Trump administration since 2016. Such a draconian policy jeopardizes and causes upheaval in students’ lives, disrupts their academic and cultural pursuits, and sullies a college experience that is supposed to be eye opening, inspiring, and nurturing. The announcement is especially egregious as it comes in the wake of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic in which President Trump has strategically blamed it on Asian immigrants as a way to divert attention from his own own errors and inaction.
We welcome ALL students, and will fight in whatever way necessary for EVERY student to stay here and pursue his/her/their studies at UC Davis.
As underscored by the chancellor, this policy is “cruel” and shortsighted and places everyone at risk. Underpinning this misguided regulation is a sustained “fear” of the immigrant, a fear rooted in American history despite the fact that it is international students who help in part to make the United States a welcoming, enriching, and thriving place. Contrary to the reports of animus between international students and Asian American students, we recognize how international students have been and continue to be vital in our community-building efforts in making this campus more equitable and inclusive.
We support all efforts against ICE and the US Department of Homeland Security enforcing this policy.
While the UC administration pursues legal protections for international students, we want to offer support and alleviate in any way we can this distressing and frustrating experience. We are currently discussing and pursuing specific ways in which we can accommodate the learning experiences of all students. Faced with more added uncertainty in a time that already calls for extraordinary steps from all of us in the care of our communities, we want to underline our commitment in ensuring that ALL students have the rightful opportunity to access their education without fear of interference, interruption, or persecution.