Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration to prevent foreign students from losing their visas amid the pandemic.

On Wednesday, both collegiate institutions petitioned a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts for a temporary restraining order, as well as a permanent injunction, to halt the administration’s new initiative introduced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday.

According to The Hill, the lawsuit, which alleges that ICE’s new policy may be an effort to “force universities to reopen in-person classes,” notes concerns about the increased risk of exposure to coronavirus with in-person classes.

In addition to the inconvenience the policy will cause for foreign students, the lawsuit argues that faculty, staff, and all other students are also being forced to abruptly change carefully crafted plans to prevent the spread of coronavirus while maintaining academic standards.

FILE PHOTO: Students and pedestrians walk through the Yard at Harvard University, after the school asked its students not to return to campus after Spring Break and said it would move to virtual instruction for graduate and undergraduate classes, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

The lawsuit also expresses concern for the future of foreign students who could be forced to upend their lives if this policy is enforced.

“The effect — and perhaps even the goal — is to create as much chaos for universities and international students as possible,” the lawsuit states.

Also citing the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the lawsuit noted the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Trump’s effort to dismantle the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Advertisement

Under that ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the Trump administration did not provide substantial evidence to justify ending the program.

The lawsuit comes two days after ICE’s announcement of the policy on Monday.

Amid ICE’s announcement and the lawsuit filing, Harvard has also taken to Twitter with a statement about the policy.

Harvard President Lawrence Bascow has vowed that the university will continue its fight to ensure that students can “can continue their studies without the threat of deportation.”

MIT also echoed similar sentiments noting the potentially critical impacts of ICE’s pending policy on its international students.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 40 states are facing surges in coronavirus cases. There are more than 3 million known cases across the United States as the death toll also continues to rise.