Stranded international college students feel abandoned. They are suing the US government.

Without in-person classes, DHS and ICE banned first-year international students from entering America.

After six months of being told she couldn’t come to America, the Australian basketball player, a key member of UCLA’s 2020 signing class, accepted defeat. So Potter, a 6-foot guard known for knocking down long-range shots, decided she’d forgo a college education in the states – and NCAA eligibility.

Izzy Anstey (center, hugging Gemma Potter) is one of 16 international student-athletes suing DHS and ICE to get into the country. (Photo: Courtesy Gemma Potter).

It's not a problem unique to Potter, Anstey or other athletes: for thousands of other first-year international students who hope to study in the U.S.

That’s because the Department of Homeland Security and ICE aren’t allowing first-year international students to come to the U.S.

As COVID wound its way across the U.S., DHS said it was fine for international students to attend college in the U.S. completely online.

With the pandemic raging in July, Trump officials reversed course, declaring that international students must attend class in-person or leave the U.S.

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The suit contends that in late July, DHS-ICE reversed a previous July 6 order from President Donald Trump that banned most international students — and for the first time, issued guidance which barred first-year international students if they enrolled in 100% online courses?

If the initial order was reversed, the suit argues, first-year student-athletes — who participate in daily, in-person practice — should be allowed in.

Though the athletes were approved for their student visas, their certification forms were deferred, leaving them in a lurch. .

They funnel millions of dollars into the academic system, as most pay full tuition rates (international students account for about 5% of students at American universities and colleges, according to NAFSA, the association of international educators).

Public universities in particular, many of whom have seen state funding cut — and raised tuition prices in response — need money from international students.

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Kirk Pasich, the lawyer representing the student-athletes, and his firm estimate there are roughly 200,000 total (non-athlete) first-year international students locked outside the U.S.

granted only 37,680 student visas — a staggering decline of 87% compared to the average of 290,000 visas the last two academic years.

Instead of playing college basketball at UCLA, she's signed a professional contract. (Photo: Courtesy Gemma Potter).

At UC-San Diego, international students make up almost one fifth of the university's student population.

Wood has been consulting with Pasich on the case involving the UCLA and LMU athletes, and empathizes with students who she said are “getting caught up in government bureaucracy and regulations that aren’t designed to handle something like a pandemic.”.

In the same way that the attacks of September 11, 2001 exposed dangerous gaps in the student visa program — some of the terrorists involved got into the U.S

on student visas, then never showed up for class — the pandemic has exposed other issues

But the government should also be encouraging “the best and brightest, the most talented students from everywhere to come to the U.S

Dorado at UC-San Diego said the pandemic has made clear that "we're a global community, we're all interconnected and we need to work together to solve the world's problems – international students are a big part of that."

It’s not just about this class of first-year students; acceptance letters will start arriving soon, and students all over the world will decide their futures

But even if the restriction was lifted next week, Potter said she had to move on for mental health purposes.