#  WCFIA Letter in Support of Our Students in Response to the ICE Press Release 

 





July 09, 2020

 

 

Dear Members of the Weatherhead Community,  
   
Earlier this week, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) issued unexpected and disheartening guidance that international students would be required to return home if their colleges and universities offered online-only courses this fall.  
   
These guidelines risk public health by pressuring universities to hold additional in-person classes, even in the case of a potential surge in COVID-19 cases, if they want their international students to remain in the US. The guidelines also seek to limit the global reach and international character that make Harvard and the Weatherhead Center—and so many campuses across the US—so vibrant.  
   
In the face of such callous guidelines, we support the effort by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology to temporarily prohibit the enforcement of these guidelines.  
   
Our learning community is enriched by students who come from around the world. This is true in both our regular workshops/seminars and in virtual settings. The Harvard Office of International Education shares the school’s [careful plans](https://oie.fas.harvard.edu/international%20students/covid-19-updates-faqs) for a safe, effective return to campus for the fall semester. We recognize that we must be flexible in how we move forward based on the uncertainties of COVID-19, and follow the most current public health guidelines. Yet, we also refuse to stand by idly and have our students harmed by capricious and ill-willed policies.  
   
The Weatherhead Center is here to support our students. We are deploying emergency resources to help them achieve their research goals. We also take seriously our roles as advisors, colleagues, and friends. Please join us in reaching out and supporting anyone affected by this ICE guidance.  
   
Sincerely,  
   
**[Michèle Lamont](https://wcfia.harvard.edu/people/michele-lamont)**  
Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies  
Professor of Sociology and of African and African American Studies  
Director, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs  
   
**[Theodore J. Gilman, PhD](https://wcfia.harvard.edu/people/theodore-j-gilman)**  
Executive Director, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs

 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Announcements ](/news-items/wcfia-announcements)
 
 

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