After several higher education associations sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for sending threatening letters restricting work authorizations for international students, UC Berkeley student representatives are questioning whether the UC system is doing enough for international students.<\/p>\n
After two ICE<\/a> memos<\/a>, campus indefinitely suspended Course Credit Curricular Practical Training work authorizations for international students Aug. 26.<\/p>\n The Association of American Universities, Presidents\u2019 Alliance on Higher Education and other parties filed a lawsuit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 5.<\/p>\n Eight UC campuses are members of the Association of American Universities. However, the UC system is not a party to the suit.<\/p>\n The UC Office of the President did not directly answer whether or not it plans to join the suit.<\/p>\n \u201cEspecially West Coast schools that have many, many international students, they should really push harsher on the CPT rule by joining the lawsuit,\u201d said East Asian and International Students\u2019 Community-endorsed ASUC Senator Sandra Ding. \u201cThey\u2019ve only (responded) by releasing an announcement, like a campus-wide message. That\u2019s all they have done.\u201d<\/p>\n The lawsuit argues that the ICE memos are legally flawed for numerous reasons. First, they were announced without providing opportunities for public comment. Second, they could make school officials personally liable for following what had been longstanding policy. Third, the memos \u201cneedlessly\u201d disrupted students\u2019 internship and work plans.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs are requesting a preliminary injunction from the court, which would immediately halt ICE\u2019s interpretation of CPT regulations from applying to universities, students and employees who are parties to the lawsuit. UC Berkeley School of Law lecturer Stephen Rosenbaum believes this is the \u201cmost effective\u201d way to challenge the ICE memos.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m also happy about the CPT lawsuit because finally there are schools that are willing to advocate and also be in the forefront, instead of just taking the language and trying our best to interpret it 180 ways,\u201d Ding said.<\/p>\n According to a presentation by UC San Diego\u2019s International Services and Engagement Office, its decision to pause CPT application processing was done \u201cin coordination with all UC campuses.\u201d<\/p>\n Nevertheless, UCOP told Rayne Xue, the UC Student Association International Student Appointed Officer, that adjusting campus policies to be more compliant with the ICE memos and allow CPT application processing to restart was \u201cout of their jurisdiction.\u201d According to Xue, UCOP encouraged student leaders to keep lobbying academic departments on their own campuses.<\/p>\n At UC Berkeley and UCLA, the processing of CPT applications is still indefinitely paused. According to UC Riverside spokesperson John Warren, UC Riverside resumed processing CPT on Oct. 1 \u201cfor students in programs that require an internship and graduate students who require opportunities to finish their thesis or dissertation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs a publicly funded university, UCR is required to comply with federal immigration law,\u201d Warren said in an email.<\/p>\n Ding spoke to Sabrina Agarwal, acting dean of undergraduate studies for the College of Letters and Science, about alternative pathways for international students to receive broader CPT authorizations. According to Ding, Agarwal said arrangements with academic departments depend on the number of international students who have previously received CPT authorizations.<\/p>\n Ding said she has been discussing such arrangements with department chairs, including one who told her that changes to academic tracks to support international students\u2019 access to CPT are \u201cproblematic\u201d and should instead be \u201cdriven by the academic mission.\u201d<\/p>\n