Supreme Court to Hear Dreamers’ Case
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the Trump administration can shut down a program that shields young undocumented immigrants, or Dreamers, from deportation. The court agreed to hear a case next fall on President Trump’s effort to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a program that his predecessor, Barack Obama, created through executive action in 2012. A pair of federal appeals courts have ruled against the administration, saying that its legal rationale did not withstand scrutiny. The Democrat-led House of Representatives passed sweeping legislation last month that would provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers, but Senate leaders have said they don’t plan to take it up.
Legal Challenge to Work Program for International Graduates
In other legal news, a U.S. district court judge allowed a group of American tech workers to continue with their lawsuit challenging optional practical training, or OPT, a federal program that allows recent international graduates to remain in the country and work. The judge ruled that the case could go forward, saying an Obama administration decision to amend OPT reset the clock on a legal challenge. The workers, who believe that international graduates are taking American jobs, argue that the government never had the authority create OPT in the first place. Here’s more background on this obscure but important program.
Student Feared Detained in North Korea
An Australian student missing in North Korea is believed to have been detained by government authorities there. Alek Sigley had recently completed his master’s thesis at Kim Il-sung University when he fell out of touch with friends and family. Sigley’s possible detention stirred memories of Otto Warmbier, an American student jailed by North Korea; Warmbier died shortly after being released in a comatose state.
Domestic Partisan Divides and International Students
Partisan divides have deepened in the United States, but it’s far from clear whether international students see the country as divided into red and blue states. But that doesn’t mean that state-level politics doesn’t affect international students or influence their enrollment decisions. The agendas set in state capitals – on policies as varied as state funding for public colleges and concealed carry of handguns – matter to international students. You can read more in my global-education newsletter, latitude(s).
