Office of the President

Update on Situation for International Students

July 15, 2020

Dear Brandeis Community,

As I explained in my message last week, Brandeis signed on to a court brief opposing a proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy that would have required international students to take courses in person to maintain their student visa status. We were  relieved and gratified to learn yesterday that the policy was withdrawn by ICE. For more detail, please see the message below from Jodi Hanelt, director of our International Students and Scholars Office, that was sent yesterday to all international students at Brandeis. 

We will closely monitor any developments with immigration policy related to the upcoming academic year and continue to support our international students.

Sincerely,

Ron Liebowitz


Greetings to our international students,

We are writing to share the good news that in the hearing today in Boston District Court, we learned that DHS has rescinded the July 6, 2020 Broadcast Message: COVID-19 Fall 2020 AND the July 7, 2020 FAQs. This means that the guidance will revert to what was released in March 2020.

In the upcoming weeks, we will be keeping a close watch on what additional information is released regarding the fall 2020 semester.

We know that last week, the announcement created so much anxiety for our international students and those who support you. For this reason, we are thrilled to share this victory with you. We also know that while this news provides a great relief, it does not take away the concerns many of you still face in your daily lives during this pandemic.

We are thankful for universities across the US, including Brandeis, who filed amicus briefs in support of the lawsuit. We couldn’t be prouder that Brandeis played a part in this positive result. Please know that the ISSO team and all of Brandeis stands with all of you, and we are here to help with any questions or concerns you wish to raise with us.

As additional information is released for the fall 2020 semester, we will be sure to update all of our students and scholars. Please feel free to read about it further via The Boston Globe, The New York Times and Forbes.

Sincerely,

ISSO