[ATTW-L] the ICE memo on international students & Re: ATTW-L Digest, Vol 28, Issue 25

Fri Jul 10 01:31:26 UTC 2020

Our law center put together this point-by-point interpretation of the policy. I found it to be really helpful (it’s not as Penn State specific at it might appear to be at first). Penn State also joined the amicus brief being written to support the lawsuit from Harvard and MIT. In the writing program, we’re working on what we ourselves might do to support international students. I appreciate the links to resources. Stuart

https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/pdfs/Immigrants/FAQStudentsFall2020CIRCOGP.pdf

> On Jul 9, 2020, at 9:06 PM, Haas, Angela <ahaas at ilstu.edu> wrote:
> 
> Thank you, Natasha, for your continued ethical leadership and vision for our ATTW community. I agree with everything you communicated.
>  
> Many thanks to Keisha and Josephine for sharing your experiences and knowledges as former international students. And deep gratitude to nextGEN’s excellent work on the Advocacy Call to Challenge Institutionalized Xenophobia Against International Students <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GCkZpfGz6c3h6L9xMj1ppzgdm26shD8E-TaoyTnITLw/edit?ts=5f0646ee>. As they put it, “We as educators need to advocate for and with international students not as economic tools, but as people who are grappling with precarity on a daily basis.” I appreciate those who have communicated similar values on this thread. 
>  
> As Natasha, Cana, Jordan and others have made clear, the value and support of international students is not up for debate in this space. The modifications to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program are reprehensible and put international students at additional, unnecessary, and disproportionate risk during this pandemic. As teachers of technical writing and stewards of a discipline and profession, it is our responsibility to support the international students and scholars we invite to campus and into our community. Our universities and organizational community are only as safe and successful as our most vulnerable members. And no one succeeds in academia alone. Much less when coping with xenophobia and microaggressions on the daily. Our international students deserve to feel as though we care about them, their education, safety, and well-being. They deserve to be treated as the community members they are.
>  
> I invite members of the list to engage the resources provided by nextGen, Huiling, Amy, Sam, and others on the list—and to share other resources that may help members of our listserv to accumulate and deepen our student visa literacies, empathy for their experiences, understanding of how to best use our privilege to advocate for them.
>  
> Thanks,
>  
> Angela
>     
>  
> --
> Angela M. Haas, PhD
> Graduate Program Director and Professor, Department of English, Illinois State University
> President, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing
> Coordinator, Computers & Writing Graduate Research Network
> Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
>  
>  
>  
> From: ATTW-L <attw-l-bounces at attw.org <mailto:attw-l-bounces at attw.org>> on behalf of "Jones, Natasha" <jonesn30 at msu.edu <mailto:jonesn30 at msu.edu>>
> Date: Thursday, July 9, 2020 at 6:06 PM
> To: "attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org>" <attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org>>
> Subject: Re: [ATTW-L] ATTW-L Digest, Vol 28, Issue 25
>  
> [This message came from an external source. If suspicious, report to abuse at ilstu.edu <mailto:abuse at ilstu.edu>] 
> Hi All,
>  
> We will not debate whether or not our international students have a right to study here, need our support, and need our advocacy in this moment. This will not devolve into a discussion that justifies the racist, xenophobic, ableist enforcement of the ICE guideline that is purposefully being used to uphold nationalistic and white supremacist ideals. These are not debatable issue in this forum. 
>  
> I defer to the important work being done on behalf of our international students, scholars, faculty members, and administrators. NextGen has issued a strong statement about HOW and WHY we must resist this guideline in this historic moment.
>  
> Thank you to all of you who have spoken up and out in support of our international scholars (in our field and beyond). Thank you Donna for making public your response to a troubling comment about the need for advocacy for our international students. And thank you to Cana for reminding all of us that WE will not engage in oppressive dialogue—no matter how politely presented--in this space.
>  
> If you are looking to learn more about what you can do to support our international students, check out this document from NexGen: 
>  
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GCkZpfGz6c3h6L9xMj1ppzgdm26shD8E-TaoyTnITLw/edit?usp=sharing <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GCkZpfGz6c3h6L9xMj1ppzgdm26shD8E-TaoyTnITLw/edit?usp=sharing>
>  
>  
> Natasha
>  
> _______________________________
> Natasha N. Jones, PhD
> Associate Professor in Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures
> Michigan State University
> Vice President, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW)
> Pronouns: she/her/hers (more information about why pronouns matter <https://lgbt.ucsf.edu/pronounsmatter>)
> 
> 
> 
> Mailing Address:
> College of Arts and Letters
> Michigan State University
> 434 Farm Lane. Bessey Hall #289
> East Lansing, MI 48824
> 
> 
> Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg-Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. The university resides on Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.
>  
> From: ATTW-L <attw-l-bounces at attw.org <mailto:attw-l-bounces at attw.org>> on behalf of attw-l-request at attw.org <mailto:attw-l-request at attw.org> <attw-l-request at attw.org <mailto:attw-l-request at attw.org>>
> Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 6:34 PM
> To: attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org> <attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org>>
> Subject: ATTW-L Digest, Vol 28, Issue 25
>  
> Send ATTW-L mailing list submissions to
>         attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org>
> 
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>         https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$> 
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>         attw-l-request at attw.org <mailto:attw-l-request at attw.org>
> 
> You can reach the person managing the list at
>         attw-l-owner at attw.org <mailto:attw-l-owner at attw.org>
> 
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of ATTW-L digest..."
> 
> 
> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. Re: the ICE memo on international students (Joseph Jeyaraj)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2020 22:33:46 +0000 (UTC)
> From: Joseph Jeyaraj <jeyarajjoseph at yahoo.com <mailto:jeyarajjoseph at yahoo.com>>
> To: ATTW List Serv <attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org>>
> Cc: attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org>
> Subject: Re: [ATTW-L] the ICE memo on international students
> Message-ID: <656458121.5172500.1594334026041 at mail.yahoo.com <mailto:656458121.5172500.1594334026041 at mail.yahoo.com>>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> 
>  Those who go on a H-1 B, while on a H-1 B, can apply for permanent residence and continue employment if permanent residence is granted. 
> 
> Some H-1 Bs are recruited from overseas directly and some are recruited from the pool of international students available stateside. 
> 
> The H-1 B has been a problem from perspective of US workers based on law suits that have come up over the years. 
> 
> Before the pandemic and before currently high levels of unemployment, the administration as part of immigration reforms argued for giving preference to international students under certain categories. 
> 
> Joseph     On Thursday, July 9, 2020, 05:48:47 PM EDT, Josephine Walwema <walwema at oakland.edu <mailto:walwema at oakland.edu>> wrote:  
>  
>  
> Joseph
> 
> 
> You do know that that is the law, right? That if international students wish to undertake optional practical training (OPT) that is the path they have to take? Sometimes it is granted, but not always. Still the majority of students return to their countries after training.
> 
> 
> Do you mean to foreclose on the possibility of international students studying in the U.S. because a few might obtain OPT and thereafter go one to H1B visa status (which is allowed for only six years)??
> 
> 
> 
> On Thu, Jul 9, 2020 at 5:29 PM Cagle, Lauren E. <lauren.cagle at uky.edu <mailto:lauren.cagle at uky.edu>> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> Joseph, I just want to be clear I understand you. Are you suggesting that international students are gaming immigration status to the detriment of US workers, and therefore the current ICE rule is acceptable?
> Cagle
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------
> 
> Lauren E. Cagle, PhD
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Assistant Professor | Writing, Rhetoric, & Digital Studies, University of Kentucky
> 
> Program Faculty | Environmental and Sustainability Studies, University of Kentucky
> 
> First Vice-President | Association for Rhetoric of Science, Technology, and Medicine
> 
> Director & Co-Founder | Kentucky Climate Consortium
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pronouns: she/her/hers
> 
> University of Kentucky
> 
> 1351 Patterson Office Tower
> 
> lauren.cagle at uky.edu <mailto:lauren.cagle at uky.edu>
> 
> 
> (859) 257-1115
> 
> 
> From: ATTW-L <attw-l-bounces at attw.org <mailto:attw-l-bounces at attw.org>> on behalf of Joseph Jeyaraj <jeyarajjoseph at yahoo.com <mailto:jeyarajjoseph at yahoo.com>>
> Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 3:51 PM
> To: Tebeaux, Elizabeth D <e-tebeaux at tamu.edu <mailto:e-tebeaux at tamu.edu>>; attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org> <attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org>>; Kain, Donna <KAIND at ecu.edu <mailto:KAIND at ecu.edu>>
> Subject: Re: [ATTW-L] the ICE memo on international students?CAUTION: External Sender
> International students currently use the OPT as a transitional period to get hired legally and then, while on an OPT, apply for the H-1B to change immigrations status, I believe.
> 
> Joseph
> On Wednesday, July 8, 2020, 03:46:51 PM EDT, Kain, Donna <kaind at ecu.edu <mailto:kaind at ecu.edu>> wrote:
> 
> Respectfully, if we have responsibility for any of our students' educational outcomes, then we have responsibility for all our students' educational outcomes. (Our accrediting agency seems to think we are responsible.) As far as relying on international students to stay afloat, that's above my pay grade. I'm concerned about the students who are here, not why they're here.
> Harvard and MIT are suing:?https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/07/08/harvard-mit-international-students-ice/ <https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/07/08/harvard-mit-international-students-ice/>
> |  | Harvard, MIT sue to protect international students - The Washington PostHarvard, pictured here, joined MIT in suing the Trump administration over a rule barring international students from coming to the United States to attend colleges offering only online classes.https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.washingtonpost.com__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWg3XgoCP$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.washingtonpost.com__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWg3XgoCP$>  |
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Donna Kain, Ph.D. Associate ProfessorDirector of Undergraduate StudiesDepartment of English,?East Carolina University252-737-2705?
> 2202 Bate Building
> Mail Stop 555kaind at ecu.eduGo <mailto:555kaind at ecu.eduGo> English!
> From: Tebeaux, Elizabeth D <e-tebeaux at tamu.edu <mailto:e-tebeaux at tamu.edu>>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 2:24 PM
> To: Kain, Donna <KAIND at ecu.edu <mailto:KAIND at ecu.edu>>
> Subject: Re: [ATTW-L] the ICE memo on international students?
> | This email originated from outside ECU. |
> 
> 
> No we are not. They have to achieve on their own.? Accrediting agencies require DE support services.? We have resident support services, but we are not responsible for their welfare and educational outcomes. ?
> I believe that universities have relied too long in intl students.? With the coming student shortage, ? Colleges will have to cope or close.? Providing DE programs for US ?working adults?graduate and certificate?is the way to go. That?s a deep market.
> Elizabeth Tebeaux?ATTW Fellow/
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> On Jul 8, 2020, at 1:13 PM, Kain, Donna <KAIND at ecu.edu <mailto:KAIND at ecu.edu>> wrote:
> 
> 
> Those are possible explanations. However, as long as we invite students to this country to study, we have a responsibility for their overall welfare and educational outcomes.?
> 
> Donna Kain, Ph.D. Associate ProfessorDirector of Undergraduate StudiesDepartment of English,?East Carolina University252-737-2705?
> 2202 Bate Building
> Mail Stop 555kaind at ecu.eduGo <mailto:555kaind at ecu.eduGo> English!
> From: ATTW-L <attw-l-bounces at attw.org <mailto:attw-l-bounces at attw.org>> on behalf of Joseph Jeyaraj <jeyarajjoseph at yahoo.com <mailto:jeyarajjoseph at yahoo.com>>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2020 11:30 AM
> To: attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org> <attw-l at attw.org <mailto:attw-l at attw.org>>; Dragga, Sam <sam.dragga at ttu.edu <mailto:sam.dragga at ttu.edu>>
> Subject: Re: [ATTW-L] the ICE memo on international students?
> | This email originated from outside ECU. |
> 
> 
> 
> The ICE memo likely is in keeping with the administration's policy of protecting American jobs.
> 
> The top two contributing countries for international students are India (from India the number currently, if I am right, may be close to 200,000) and China (possibly higher than India's) and it is the understanding that many of them post graduation move on to OPT and then H-1B.?
> 
> The H-1 B is meant to bring in overseas workers for filling in jobs that cannot be filled by US nationals, but American workers have argued that that is not the case.?
> 
> In addition, the Obama administration also allowed the H-4 (spousal visa) to be used as a work visa (possibly in 2015) and currently there may be around 127,000 or so who have entered the US job market as a result.
> 
> The above is in addition to jobs outsourced. (If I am right, a few years ago IBM's biggest workforce of possibly 120,000 or so may have been India.)
> 
> Because of Covid-19 and high unemployment levels, I think, the administration has put a stop on processing all work visas (H-1B and and other types as well I think, including the H-4).
> 
> Joseph On Tuesday, July 7, 2020, 02:54:08 PM EDT, Dragga, Sam <sam.dragga at ttu.edu <mailto:sam.dragga at ttu.edu>> wrote:
> 
> 
> If you are looking for a striking example of technical writing with a direct impact on your classrooms, consider the memo released yesterday by the US Department of Homeland Security (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/bcm2007-01.pdf__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWmwHbR_9$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/bcm2007-01.pdf__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWmwHbR_9$> ).
> 
> The memo explains to college administrators that their international (nonimmigrant) students musttake either onsite courses or a mix of onsite and online courses in the Fall 2020 semester to remain in the United States.
> 
> In addition to raising awareness of the extraordinary conditions for international students, the memo offers the opportunity to discuss clarity in writing (e.g., note the 33-word opening sentence in the 116-word opening paragraph but also the headings and numbered or bulleted lists). ?
> 
> And given the experience of the Spring 2020 semester and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the memo raises ethical questions about putting the following key piece of information in a 63-word sentence in the middle of a 151-word paragraph on page 2 of a 3-page memo [italics mine]:? 
> 
> If a school changes its operational stance mid-semester, and as a result a nonimmigrant student switches to only online classes, or a nonimmigrant student changes their course selections, and as a result, ends up taking an entirely online course load, schools are reminded that nonimmigrant students within the United States are not permitted to take a full course of study through online classes.
> 
> Sam
> 
> Sam Dragga
> 
> Professor Emeritus, Texas Tech University
> 
> Editor,Technical Communication
> 
> sam.dragga at ttu.edu <mailto:sam.dragga at ttu.edu>
> 
> 1-806-543-6099
> 
> ?
> _______________________________________________
> ATTW-L mailing list
> ATTW-L at attw.org <mailto:ATTW-L at attw.org>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> ATTW-L mailing list
> ATTW-L at attw.org <mailto:ATTW-L at attw.org>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!KwNVnqRv!U0PxocZt15Jl_jQL1-9Nll6uHarSbF7rkM3O8COdfpbKEhPcrYVZ1zVlrrC1m0YDhw$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!KwNVnqRv!U0PxocZt15Jl_jQL1-9Nll6uHarSbF7rkM3O8COdfpbKEhPcrYVZ1zVlrrC1m0YDhw$>
> 
> _______________________________________________
> ATTW-L mailing list
> ATTW-L at attw.org <mailto:ATTW-L at attw.org>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$> 
> _______________________________________________
> ATTW-L mailing list
> ATTW-L at attw.org <mailto:ATTW-L at attw.org>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Josie
> 
> ________________________________________
> 
> Josephine Walwema, PhD
> 
> Associate Professor,?Writing?and?Rhetoric?
> 
> Oakland University?
> 
> 308 O'Dowd Hall, 586 Pioneer Drive
> 
> Rochester, MI 48309-4482
> 
> 248-370-4136
> _______________________________________________
> ATTW-L mailing list
> ATTW-L at attw.org <mailto:ATTW-L at attw.org>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$> 
>   
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://attw.org/pipermail/attw-l_attw.org/attachments/20200709/04b14474/attachment.html__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWgPppeUJ$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://attw.org/pipermail/attw-l_attw.org/attachments/20200709/04b14474/attachment.html__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWgPppeUJ$> >
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Subject: Digest Footer
> 
> _______________________________________________
> ATTW-L mailing list
> ATTW-L at attw.org <mailto:ATTW-L at attw.org>
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org__;!!HXCxUKc!jZpGHRJd7CDzUXd0l8kCgXw0PVUeeA5MwmbgvPCvWvzhIU1PKooRuptnWlpKOFkr$> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> End of ATTW-L Digest, Vol 28, Issue 25
> **************************************
> _______________________________________________
> ATTW-L mailing list
> ATTW-L at attw.org <mailto:ATTW-L at attw.org>
> http://attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org <http://attw.org/mailman/listinfo/attw-l_attw.org>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://attw.org/pipermail/attw-l_attw.org/attachments/20200709/fc1f8929/attachment-0002.htm>