PLEASE READ THIS THREAD
Most of you know I did my undergrad in the US. What some of you may not know is that I did it on a student visa. It is completely and fully legal immigration.
Why am I telling you this now?

ICE passed an order today that affects many of my friends and family & million other students who are in the US on the same visa. I have been in tears the last few hours (& currently writing this through tears) wondering how to talk about this because this is so close to my heart

I am creating this thread to talk through this legislation using several sources I have read online & my personal experiences. I will also pin thread of petitions to my profile please sign and share those!!

ICE just kicked out 1000s of students from the US. This Order states that international students must leave the united states if their university transitions to fully online learning.

This means that international students can be deported in the middle of the semester, if their university transfers to fully online learning
The US has over 1million international students who contributed $45 billion to US econ in 2018.

Here is a brief breakdown of the legislation & what it means
You can also read the whole legislation here:
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/sevp-modifies-temporary-exemptions-nonimmigrant-students-taking-online-courses-during

Here are a few facts you may not about international students:
We do NOT qualify for FAFSA or any other government aid and most scholarships. Any scholarship they can get is solely merit-based and highly limited.

We pay more than out of state students and close to 3x domestic students(around $30,000 per year)
We are ONLY allowed to work ON campus & ONLY 20 hrs a week severely limiting how much we can earn
We are denied personal loans, credit cards & credit limits due to their visa status

it costs thousands of dollars if they want to see their families over break so most rarely do
We also have to maintain a 2.0 GPA & always have to be a Full-Time Student & Update I20 as needed

We are much more likely to be passed over for jobs and internships because of immigration bureaucracy. Companies rarely want to go through the extra work of hiring is. Our resumes need to be OUTSTANDING to even be considered.

To even get to the US we need to
Score high on IELTS/TOEFL (English Language Tests) which costs about $215-$240/Try
Apply to various universities and get an acceptance and have to pay 3x the tuition and fees

Apply for extremely competitive and expensive ($510 per application) FI Visa
We have to pass a whole Screening test with Authorities who ask us to show all our life's documents and show proof of income and the Visa Approval Rates are LOW

We are still screened and scrutinized at the Airports/Port of Entry and sometimes even after getting a Visa, students are sent back home directly from airports

So how does this legislation really affect students?
Students whose university does not offer in person classes during fall semester will be deported
[for example: most international students in California will be deported)

Students who have taken out loans from their home country or the united states will most
Likely not be refunded and thus, stuck with a loan they don't need / can't use

Students who have already signed a lease for the coming semester or academic year are stuck with it.
[currently getting out of a lease / finding someone to take over your lease is almost impossible since the demand is declining)

Students who would enter their last academic year aren't able to graduate as they planned. This will cause further financial distress.

Students whose visas will expire after this academic year may not be able to renew their Visas. In this case theses students won't be able to finish their studies and graduate.

Since ice made their announcement only few weeks before the beginning of the semester, most international students won't have the opportunity to transfer into another university

Students who are currently in the united states are forced to risk their health and safety while traveling during global epidemic.

The united states hosts over 1 million international students each year. Deporting even half of these students will cause serious risk of second wave of covid-19 spreading to countries that have already recovered from the epidemic.

I have been turned down for several opportunities simply because of my immigration status. I'm not going to talk too much about my experience now because this isn't about me. this is about how the current administration is exploiting a pandemic to restrict LEGAL immigration.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU CAN DO IS VOTE!!! register at http://vote.gov  and make an educated choice about local candidates. (circuit court judges impact these kinds of decisions)

SIGN PETITIONS (thread pinned in profile) and spread the word. If you know anyone who may be impacted by these changes please make sure they are aware of the changes & have time to make a plan for themselves. RT and share this thread