Compiled by students from Wesleyan University (bchong@wesleyan.edu) and UC Berkeley (coralkchen@berkeley.edu)
Please call AND email BOTH your Senators and Representatives, in BOTH your home and college district!
6 emails and 6 calls (2 Senators + 1 Rep from home state, 2 Senators + 1 Rep from college state). Livelihoods of your classmates depend on you completing this!
Find your House Representative here!
Sign TWO MAJOR PETITIONS as well:
We the People (petitions.whitehouse.gov)
Follow @wetheforeigners and @internationalstudentaction on Instagram for updates!
Writing your own personalized message is always most effective. Many offices filter for duplicate emails, so writing a unique message ensures someone will read it.
FOR PERSONALIZED CALLS
FOR PERSONALIZED EMAILS/LETTERS
Hello, my name is [name here]. I’m a constituent from [city/state], ZIP code [5-digit ZIP] (OR I am a student at _______, which is located in your district.). I am calling to speak against the latest modifications to COVID-19 exemptions under ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which would disallow international students on F-1 and M-1 visas taking online-only courses from remaining in the country.
International students affected by these guidelines will be forced to transfer to another college for in-person classes, or leave the country entirely. This is highly discriminatory and unnecessarily cruel towards a population that is already experiencing disproportionate uncertainty during this pandemic. In 2018, international students contributed over (XX amount from the NAFSA link) to the (State/District). People whose jobs depend on a thriving international student community make up a significant part of your constituency.
I call on you and your colleagues to strongly support reversing or repealing this policy that would forcibly remove hundreds of thousands of scholars from the country. Thank you.
AUTO-SEND EMAILS TO HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP!
Dear Representative/Senator ________,
My name is ___ and I am a constituent from [city/state], ZIP code [5-digit ZIP] (OR I am a student at [college/university], which is located in your district.). I am writing to urge you to take a strong stance against Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) recent Student Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP) policy change, which will prevent students with nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 student visas from maintaining their legal residency in the United States if their college switches to online only instruction. This policy would force many international students to either transfer to another institution for in-person coursework or to leave the United States entirely.
Forcing international students to transfer is unrealistic and financially untenable for many. Additionally, many international students will face unsafe and/or unsuitable learning conditions in their home countries; some students will be without access to the internet, electricity, or other services that would allow individuals to participate in online learning. Lastly, traveling presents a high risk for contracting and spreading COVID-19.
International students are a vital part of our universities and economy. The number of international students choosing to come to the U.S. is already declining, and this new policy would further reduce those numbers. Colleges and universities faced with declining government funding require international students’ tuition to stay afloat, and the U.S. economy at large relies heavily on foreign workers’ expertise and contributions. In 2018, international students contributed over (XX amount from the NAFSA link) to the (State/District). People whose jobs depend on a thriving international student community make up a significant part of your constituency. This pressure to retain international students is forcing colleges and universities to offer in-person instruction, counter to public health recommendations. Thus, allowing international students to remain in the United States regardless of mode of instruction is vital to ensuring that international students at American colleges and universities are able to stay safe, financially secure, and healthy during these challenging times.
These new regulations are just another example of the Trump administration’s xenophobic campaign to curtail immigration. I urge you and your colleagues in the House of Representatives/Senate to stand against ICE’s newest attack on immigrants, and to strongly support the repeal of these new SEVP policy changes.
Thank you for your time,
_________