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Protesters rally in front of the White House during a protest over the death of George Floyd in Washington D.C., the United States, on May 31, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
Given the plenty of previous political interests-oriented acts of the Trump administration, the ulterior motive behind such cruel rules is not hard to decode -- to pave the way for the full reopening of the country and return to normalcy in all fields for the sake of the approaching presidential election in November.
by Xinhua writer Ma Qian
BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Washington's controversial new rules regarding international students have met with stiff opposition and sparked outrage worldwide.
These rules not only represent an unscrupulous disregard for public health but also risk harming the country's educational appeal in the international arena.
Under the newly-modified guidelines of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of State will not issue visas to international students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall 2020 semester, nor will U.S. Customs and Border Protection permit these students to enter the United States.
Upon their announcement, the new rules were immediately blasted as cruel, reckless and xenophobic for blatantly putting human life at risk, when the global COVID-19 caseload broke a striking level of 12 million and U.S. single-day confirmed cases surpassed 63,000 on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The ICE's arbitrary new policy is irrational and xenophobic, and risks the health of students, faculty, and staff, nearly 100 U.S. lawmakers said Thursday in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
People enjoy meals at the outdoor dining area of a restaurant in New York, the United States, on June 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
Given the plenty of previous political interests-oriented acts of the Trump administration, the ulterior motive behind such cruel rules is not hard to decode -- to pave the way for the full reopening of the country and return to normalcy in all fields for the sake of the approaching presidential election in November.
Eager to cover up its incompetence in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House has blamed it on foreign factors such as immigrants and international travelers.
Desperate to recover the economy, the Trump administration has constantly played down the pandemic, urging businesses, schools and campaign rallies to resume despite the huge lag in measures of pandemic prevention and control.
And now it is for the domestic universities and international students to dance to the music, only to serve Washington's short-sighted and self-defeating political purposes.
International students definitely bear the brunt of the cruel rules, which, once imposed, will leave them few choices between departing the country and transferring to schools with in-person instruction, which thus aggravates their confusion and panic about future personal development.
A man walks on Georgetown University's main campus in Washington, D.C., the United States, on July 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
Renowned U.S. universities will also lose big due to the inevitable ensuing damage caused by the rules.
First of all, rash reopening of in-person classes amid the deteriorating pandemic will increase health and safety hazards for faculty and other service providers in universities.
What's worse, as overseas students are discouraged from choosing U.S. institutions of higher education, U.S. universities will not only suffer from heavy economic damage but also incessant brain drain in the long run.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, international students contributed 44.7 billion U.S. dollars to the U.S. economy in 2018, an increase of 5.5 percent from the previous year.
The Institute of International Education finds that more than 1 million international students enrolled in various graduate and undergraduate programs in 2018-2019 in the United States.
People walk on the campus of Columbia University, in New York, the United States, March 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)
Slamming the door on international students through administrative measures during a ravaging pandemic also smacks of discrimination and xenophobia.
CNN said it is "another disgusting, transparent Trump administration attack on foreigners and immigrants," which further diminishes the U.S. influence and reputation on international issues.
Shutting international students out will only erode the country's educational appeal.
Calling the rules as "mean-spirited, arbitrary and damaging to America," the University of California (UC) has announced plans to sue the government over the new rules, joining the legal fight led by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
It is high time that the White House stopped indulging in political tricks and woke up to the fact that only a caring heart for people's health and safety can win popular support at the time of a raging pandemic. ■
