The document is a legal brief submitted as an amicus curiae, or "friend of the court," by the American Council on Education and 70 other organizations representing a wide spectrum of U.S. higher education institutions. The brief supports the plaintiffs, Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in their motion for preliminary injunctive relief against a directive issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in July 2020. The challenged directive, issued amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, required international students holding F-1 and M-1 visas to participate in in-person classes to remain in the United States, overturning prior guidance that had permitted online study due to public health concerns.
The amici assert that this abrupt policy change disregards the immense academic, cultural, economic, and scientific contributions of international students and imposes arbitrary and harmful constraints on higher education institutions. They argue that the directive not only endangers public health and pressures universities to resume in-person instruction prematurely but also threatens the operational viability and global standing of U.S. higher education, which relies fundamentally on its ability to attract international students. The brief underscores the diversity of American colleges and universities and the need for flexibility to respond to localized pandemic conditions. The amici contend that the directive was issued without proper consideration, explanation, or regard for administrative law norms, and that its implementation would cause irreparable harm to students, institutions, and the broader U.S. society and economy. Consequently, the amici strongly urge the court to grant immediate preliminary injunctive relief to halt the enforcement of the directive.
