哈佛大学和麻省理工学院起诉美国政府 反对留学生签证新规

美国哈佛大学和麻省理工学院7月8日提起联邦诉讼，以阻止美国政府实施针对留学生的签证新规。为施压美国大学重启校园，美国国土安全部下属移民和海关执法局7月6日发布通告说，2020年秋季学期的留学生如果仅上网课，将无法取得赴美签证或维持当前签证。

A sign promoting social distancing of the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology on July 8, 2020 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. [Photo/Agencies]

Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over its guidance not allowing foreign students to take online-only courses in the US this fall semester.

哈佛大学和麻省理工学院本周三 Harvard announced earlier this week that all course instruction will be delivered online, including for students living on campus. In a statement provided to CNN, the university said the guidance stands to affect approximately 5,000 international students.

哈佛大学本周早些时候宣布，所有课程都将在网上授课，包括对住校学生的授课。哈佛大学在提供给美国有线电视资讯网的一份声明中表示，美国政府的这一政策将影响该校大约5000名国际学生。

"The order came down without notice—its cruelty surpassed only by its recklessness. It appears that it was designed purposefully to place pressure on colleges and universities to open their on-campus classrooms for in-person instruction this fall, without regard to concerns for the health and safety of students, instructors, and others," Harvard University President Larry Bacow said.

哈佛大学校长拉里·巴考说：“这一政策事先没有任何通知，不仅残酷更是鲁莽。这似乎是有意给高校施加压力，要求他们在今年秋天开放校园课堂，进行线下授课，而不考虑学生、教师和其他人的健康和安全问题。”

Visa requirements for students have always been strict and coming to the US to take online-only courses has been prohibited. Immigration and Customs Enforcement maintained that prohibition in its guidance, while providing some flexibility for hybrid models, meaning a mix of online and in-person classes.

美国对学生签证的要求一直很严格，来美国上在线课程已经被禁止。移民和海关执法局在其规定中坚持这一禁令，但同时为混合教学模式提供了一些灵活性，即在线和线下授课的混合模式。

The agency suggested that students currently enrolled in the US consider other measures, like transferring to schools with in-person instruction.

移民和海关执法局建议目前在美国就读的国际学生考虑其他办法，比如转学到有线下授课的学校。

Students enrolled in a school "operating entirely online" must either leave the country or transfer to a school that is offering in-person classes, ICE said.

移民和海关执法局表示，如果就读的学校“只开设在线课程”，学生必须离开美国，或转学到开设线下课程的学校。

"If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings," a news release said.

该机构发表的资讯稿中称：“如果违反规定，他们可能面临相应的后果，包括但不限于被驱逐出境。”

Students and pedestrians walk through the Yard at Harvard University, after the school said it would move to virtual instruction for graduate and undergraduate classes, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, March 10, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]

The ICE announcement said that students enrolled in schools that offer a combination of in-person and online classes will be permitted to continue as long as the school certifies that the program is not all online, that the student is not exclusively taking online classes, and that "the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make normal progress in their degree program."

移民和海关执法局的声明称，只要高校提供线上和线下混合教学，证明课程不全是在线的，学生并不是只就读在线课程，并且“为了在学位课程中取得正常进展，学生在修读最低数量的在线课程”，学生就可以继续留在美国。

In an FAQ published by the agency, the Department of Homeland Security reasoned that "all students scheduled to study at a US institution in the fall will be able to do so, though some will be required to study from abroad if their presence is not required for any in-person classes in the United States."

在该机构发表的问答中，美国国土安全部认为“所有打算今年秋季在美国高校留学的学生都将能够这样做，虽然有些不必来校园上课的学生将被要求在国外在线学习。”

The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, seeks to block the directive, arguing it violates the Administrative Procedures Act. The universities argue that ICE's decision not to provide an exemption for online-only courses puts them in an "untenable situation" of either proceeding with their plans to operate fully or largely online or attempt to provide in-person learning.

该诉讼已经提交给美国马萨诸塞州地区法院，试图阻止这一政策，称其违反了《行政程序法》。两所大学认为，移民和海关执法局决定不为纯在线课程提供豁免，使其处于“站不住脚的境地”，要么继续他们的计划，全部或大部分教学都在线上进行，要么尝试提供线下授课。

The lawsuit also underscores the challenge posed to students: "Just weeks from the start of the fall semester, these students are largely unable to transfer to universities providing on-campus instruction, notwithstanding ICE's suggestion that they might do so to avoid removal from the country."

这起诉讼也突显了学生面临的挑战：“距离秋季学期开学仅有几周时间，这些学生大多无法转学到提供线下授课的大学，尽管移民和海关执法局建议他们可以这样做，以避免被驱逐出境。”

It continues: "Moreover, for many students, returning to their home countries to participate in online instruction is impossible, impracticable, prohibitively expensive, and/or dangerous."

诉讼中继续写道：“此外，对许多学生来说，回到自己的国家参加在线教学是不可能的，不可行的，成本高得令人望而却步，或者很危险。”

Harvard and MIT's lawsuit also received support from Cornell. The university said its international students will largely not be affected due to hybrid teaching, but expressed strong opposition.

哈佛大学和麻省理工学院的诉讼也得到了康奈尔大学的支持。康奈尔大学表示，由于实施混合教学模式，该校的国际学生在很大程度上不会受到这一政策的影响，但仍对此表示强烈反对。

"This was wholly unexpected, and it is a senseless and unfair policy that runs counter to all that we stand for as a global academic community," said Martha E. Pollack, president of Cornell University. There are more than 1 million international students in the US.

康奈尔大学校长玛莎·E.波拉克说：“这完全出乎意料，这是一项毫无意义、不公平的政策，与我们作为国际化的学术界所主张的一切背道而驰。”美国国际学生人数超过100万。