Hello and welcome to The Markup, Inside Higher Ed’s weekly roundup of all things higher ed policy. I’m your host, Jessica Blake, IHE’s federal policy reporter, who is a true Midwesterner and could not be more ready for the fall.
We’re a little more than a month out from midterms, and the House has already left town to campaign. But just before they clocked out, Rep. Tim Walberg, chair of the lower chamber’s education committee, teamed up with Sen. Jon Husted to introduce legislation to limit the number of international students who can compete in varsity college sports.
The bill’s goal, a Walberg spokesperson said, is to “preserve opportunities for American athletes.”
Here are our key takeaways from the week.
1. Judge Blocks Controversial Student Visa Restrictions at the 11th Hour: The rule, which would have restricted how long international students can stay in the country, was originally scheduled to take effect Sept. 15. But it was blocked by a Massachusetts judge, who ruled that Trump officials didn’t properly respond to public comments and consider other options.
The judge also noted that the White House and State Department failed to show a rational connection between the rule and its purported national security objectives, saying the idea of necessity “borders on the absurd” and is based “almost entirely on a small handful of anecdotes.”
For now, students can continue to legally study in the U.S. for more than four years without renewing their visas. The next step in litigation, a status conference, is slated for Oct. 2.
