Immigration

California Suing Trump Administration Over New Student Visa Policy

ICE announced Monday international students cannot stay in the country if their schools move to online-only classes.

California Suing Trump Administration Over New Student Visa Policy
Rich Pedroncelli / AP
SMS

The state of California is suing the Trump administration over its new student visa policy regarding online classes.

State Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Thursday California would become the first state to file a lawsuit over the new ICE policy, which was announced Monday.

The policy states that international students cannot stay in the country if their schools move to online-only classes. If they want to stay in the country, they will either need to find in-person classes or face deportation.

Becerra said: "This could put everyone at risk of getting and spreading the coronavirus or being subject, in the case of these international students, to deportation if they don't comply."

California's Stanford University and The University of Southern California began legal actions against the Trump administration this week, joining other institutions like Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The University of California announced they would also pursue a lawsuit.