APS Files Amicus Brief Opposing ICE’s July 6 Directive on International Student Visas

The American Physical Society and 16 other scientific societies, including the American Institute of Physics, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and The Optical Society, have formally pledged their support for the lawsuit brought by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to block US Immigration and Customs Enforcement from canceling visas of international students unable to take in-person classes because of the pandemic. Many of these organizations’ international student members hold F-1 visas and are directly affected by the July 6 Directive. In a legal document called an amicus brief filed today with the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the Societies write: “Enjoining the July 6 Directive is no doubt in the public interest to avoid the significant and long-lasting adverse impact on continued US global leadership in scientific and technological industries.” Pressuring colleges and universities to resume in-person classes this fall would greatly increase the risk of infection in these communities, “further damaging the science and technology talent pool in the United States.”