After being accepted to the University of California Washington Program, or UCDC, a UC Berkeley student spent her summer searching for internships. She was eventually offered a policy internship at an Asian American and Pacific Islander advocacy nonprofit.
However, her excitement was short-lived.
After the Berkeley International Office indefinitely paused the processing of Course Credit Curricular Practical Training applications, she had to turn the internship down because she could no longer apply for work authorization as an international student.
“Even though a lot of (international students) have received offers, just to have that stripped away from you after such hard work over a long period of time is definitely disheartening,” said the UCDC international student, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation from the federal government.
BIO indefinitely suspended Course Credit CPT applications on Aug. 26 following two memorandums from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Course Credit CPT allows international students to pursue internships or other work experience in exchange for academic credit.
“We got into the same school. We go to the same classes. We take the same tests, but we don’t get the same opportunities and it’s unfair,” the international student said.
Since UCDC requires all students to complete an internship, she believed her CPT application would count as Degree Requirement CPT, which is not subject to campus’ CPT suspension. She said she was told by a BIO representative that “no one has ever had an issue getting their CPT approved” for UCDC.
After the BIO representative double-checked with her supervisor, BIO informed the student that she would not be receiving a CPT work authorization, according to the student. She said a UCDC staffer asked her if she wanted to return to UC Berkeley instead.
“I’ve had different people from Berkeley International Office tell me different things, so it ended up just being very confusing,” the international student said. “I wasn’t even sure who to trust or whose guidance I should work with.”
UC Berkeley School of Law lecturer Stephen Rosenbaum characterized BIO’s decision to indefinitely suspend Course Credit CPT as “obeying in advance.” He argued that the ICE memos are “at best guidelines” and do not have legal or regulatory force.
Nevertheless, Rosenbaum pointed out that the memo contains a “sinister” reporting email which allows individuals to contact ICE about suspected fraud and a reminder that universities could lose their ability to enroll international students if they improperly authorize CPT.
He called the memo a “strong warning” to universities. “That kind of threat alone can be enough of a disincentive to keep programs from doing the right thing or from acting more courageously,” Rosenbaum said.
Rosenbaum and Graduate Assembly President Chrissy Shively agreed that campus should have considered strategies to expand work experience requirements in degree programs to make more CPT available to international students amid the ICE threats.
Rosenbaum noted the memos further clarify the term “integral” in other existing CPT regulations, but ultimately leave it up to universities to decide what kind of work experience is essential to the completion of degrees for international students.
He said campus could have consulted international student associations — the ASUC, the Academic Senate and the Graduate Assembly — before indefinitely suspending Course Credit CPT application processing.
“We are saddened that the administration seemingly gave up the fight without first exploring all possible solutions,” wrote Shively in an email.
UCDC students from UC Berkeley receive 9 units of academic credit for their internships. Without an internship, the international student is continuing a summer Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program project and will volunteer as an unpaid tutor for a youth detention facility nonprofit to make up the credits.
She had to find and seek approval from BIO for these activities on her own, and described communicating with BIO as “frustrating” and “stressful.”
“There’s very little, to be honest, that they could help us with,” she said. “A lot of the activities that I’m currently engaged with, I have to find them and search for them and ask for permission for them by myself.”