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#AbolishICE trends after immigrant students in online classes are told to leave US, Internet says 'f**k ICE'

'Active students in the US enrolled in such programs must depart the country or transfer to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status,' stated a press release
UPDATED JUL 7, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement aka ICE is planning to deport college students from the US on student visas if their course is only holding online courses this fall. "Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status," said a press release on ICE's official website. "If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings."

The decision from the federal agency is both heartless and inconvenient. With a spike in nationwide Covid-19 cases, universities and schools across the country have been planning alternatives to in-person teaching. Many colleges and universities across the country, including Harvard, have announced that they will be holding online classes for the academic year to reduce the risk of being infected by classroom teaching. This announcement immediately sparked other concerns including how this would benefit students, how students living in a different timezone would cope, and what about those with limited broadband access? The most important question that has stemmed from this cruel decision is what would happen if a student gets infected as a result of forced deportation. 

A view of the campus of Boston College on March 31, 2020, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Students at Universities across the country were sent home to finish the semester online due to the risk of coronavirus (Getty Images)

ICE's announcement was the subject of immediate backlash as people condemned the agency for targeting international students. Many Twitter users, furious at ICE's announcement, took to the platform to express their opinions: "ICE is essentially giving immigrant students two options: leave the country or be transferred to detention camps," a user tweeted. "Since when does ICE have jurisdiction over universities and how we decide to teach DURING A PANDEMIC? #AbolishIce," added another.

"I’ve already heard from 5 panicking international students in the hour since ICE announced this latest isolationist assault. F**k Stephen Miller and F**k ICE. #AbolishICE," said one user while another added, "#AbolishICE I keep saying it when is it gonna happen this sh*t should not be able to have power." One user tweeted, "If the school is going online-only this fall, the students on student visas are forced to depart the United States and cannot remain through the fall semester. Trump cruelly takes international students as leverage for his political gains. #AbolishICE."

Another wrote in a tweet, "This is anti-immigrant, anti-student, anti-worker bulls**t. We will fight to make sure international students are protected and that we once and for all #AbolishICE" Since the outbreak called for educational institutions across the country to remain closed amid the lockdown, many international students were able to attend springs and summer semesters as they were held online.

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