International Student In North Texas Feels He's Being Punished By New ICE Policy
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced international students on F-1 or M-1 Visas can't remain in the United States if fall classes are fully online due to the pandemic.
The modifications come after schools across the country attempt to navigate plans to safely reopen in the fall.
As long as the course load for an International student contains a mix of online and in-person classes, they can stay.
But if enrolled in only online courses, they must either transfer or leave the country.
Victor Tralci is a University of North Texas graduate student working on his master's degree.
He has been in the U.S for more than 6 years.
He said he feels as if he's being punished for no reason.
"We were granted this opportunity, and then they're just taking it away from us for no good reason," he said. "I was like, without a loss of words I didn't know what to do I didn't know what to say I didn't know who to call."
At UNT, the school is planning to adapt to both online and in-person courses for the fall of 2020.
However, Tralci's specific classes were moved all online.
"All of my classes for a master's program for this past semester at least are fully online. So I think I've already past, 'I'm scared,' time," he said.
Other North Texas school's with a blended format include Southern Methodist University, University of Texas at Dallas, TCU and the University of Texas at Arlington.
CBS 11 reached out to UNT for a statement on their plans for students like Tralci:
"The UNT community cares deeply about our international students and we are committed to providing them with continuity of education. The recent federal mandate has made it more challenging for us and the students, but we will do everything in our power to keep our international students here and provide them with options for moving forward with their degree plans."