Groups Ask Senate for Oversight on USCIS Memos

Aug. 14, 2018 letter to Senators Grassley, Feinstein - "We the undersigned representing higher and international education, business, immigration, and human rights organizations are alarmed by what appears to be a comprehensive plan of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to target legal immigrants through reinterpretation of long-standing immigration law and policy. USCIS has released a series of guidance memos that will have the effect of shifting legal immigrants into unlawful status and put them on the path to removal from the United States, and in some cases, bar them from reentry to the country for up to 10-years. If these guidance memoranda are implemented, USCIS jeopardizes the ability of U.S. higher education to attract talented international students, scholars, professors, researchers, exchange visitors, and others to our campuses around the country. This will compromise our ability to remain the global leader in higher education. We urge the Senate to conduct oversight and advise USCIS to withdraw the memos. Our colleges and universities have long been a magnet for talented people from around the world. U.S. students are provided the best education because of this. For generations our economy and our communities have benefited from international students and scholars, some of whom have remained to work and build lives here. The guidance memos proposed policy changes put this at risk."