PROPOSED CHANGES TO STUDENT VISAS FACES OPPOSITION

PROPOSED CHANGES TO STUDENT VISAS FACE OPPOSITION

A PSU INTERNATIONAL STUDENT. COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY

KARISA YUASA

The United States Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule change on Sept. 25 that would potentially end the duration of status for international students and scholars on F and J visas.

“If this rule is implemented, international students and scholars will be admitted to the U.S. for either a two or four-year period,” said Christina Luther, Director of International Student and Scholar Services at Portland State.

“Right now these people are admitted for what is known as duration of status, meaning that as long as they are maintaining their status and making what is considered normal progress towards program completion, they may remain.”

In the 2018–19 academic year, there were over a million international students in the U.S.

As the number of international students has almost doubled in the last decade, DHS stated the changes would help to “reduce fraud” and “enhance national security” by allowing the department to better assess whether people are maintaining their status.

“Amending the relevant regulations is critical in improving program oversight mechanisms, preventing foreign adversaries from exploiting the country’s education environment and properly enforcing and strengthening U.S. immigration laws,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli.

“DHS does not believe such a requirement would place an undue burden on F, J and I nonimmigrants. Rather, providing F, J and I nonimmigrants a fixed time period of authorized stay that would require them to apply to extend their stay, change their nonimmigrant status or otherwise obtain authorization to remain in the U.S. at the end of this specific admission period is consistent with requirements applicable to most other nonimmigrant classifications,” DHS stated.

Criticism of the proposed rule change emerged during the 30day comment period following the announcement. During the period, over 30,000 comments were received, all of which are required to be read by the government.

“The rule is proposed to manage national security threats posed by individuals who stay beyond the time allowed in the U.S., but this particular population is the most highly monitored population in the U.S. If a student stops studying or disappears, we are obliged to report that to the government,” Luther said. “This rule does nothing to heighten security.”

Letters in opposition to the rule change were sent to DHS by state attorneys general and members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

ASPSU submitted a memorandum to Oregon state leaders asking for their support against the proposed change.

“ASPSU will not tolerate any more acts of bigotry towards international students and encourage [sic] Oregon leaders to unite and stand with us as we challenge the Department of Homeland Security to repeal this new proposed policy,” the memorandum stated.

If implemented, students seeking a typical four-year degree may still be subject to a two-year visa if they are coming from a country with high overstay rates, are attending an unaccredited school or are attending a school that does not fully participate in E-Verify.

“At PSU we do not fully participate in the E-Verify system, meaning that our HR office only uses E-Verify when government contracts are involved. Because this is the case, PSU students and scholars would only be admitted to the U.S. for 2 years,” Luther said.

If a student is unable to complete their program within the time allotted, they must apply for an extension through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and pay any fees associated with the application process—with no guarantee the extension will get granted.

“When I started in the U.S., I was 26,” said the director of ASPSU university affairs, who is an international student from Great Britain. “Even looking back at 26, I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to do. What this does is say ‘you don’t have time to be young’, ‘you don’t have time to be naive’, ‘you don’t have time to make those decisions’.”

“You can’t waste time because this policy change, if implemented, means that if you want a degree from the U.S., that’s all you’re going to get. You’re not going to have time because of the fear, the money and the potential fear of any mistake being a mark against you.”

The rule change could also potentially shorten an F nonimmigrant’s time to prepare to leave the U.S., following their visa expiration, from 60 to 30 days.

“If I’m working through and through, the hardest I’ve ever worked up until the end of this degree, I have 30 days after I take that moment, that breath, and going ‘I completed my degree’ to get rid of everything I possibly own and go home. It’s a lot,” the ASPSU director said. ”I’ve been here for 6 years. I have a life here. I have nothing back home.”

Although the rule change is still preliminary, the effects they could have are already being discussed.

“International students already have so many challenges while studying in the U.S.—their studies, being away from home, having families depend on their success, financial challenges, time pressure—to layer this uncertainty on top of all those other challenges, for me, would be the final straw,” Luther said.

“In their shoes, I wouldn’t bother coming. I’d look to one of the many other countries in the world that are far more welcoming and provide better support and more security than the U.S. would if this rule passes.”

CPSO will not go firearm-free this fall

DYLAN JEFFERIES

PORTLAND STATE’S CSPO OFFICE BOARDED UP. SOFIE BRANDT/PSU VANGUARD

Campus public safety officers will not begin patrolling campus without firearms this fall.

In August, the university announced plans to disarm its campus security after years of activism from students and faculty calling on the university to do so. The initial announcement in August stated officers would begin unarmed patrols this fall. However, due to staffing and administrative challenges, that goal will not be met, which means for the time being, officers will continue to patrol campus with guns.

CPSO Chief Willie Halliburton released a video message alongside an email from Portland State President Stephen Percy outlining their reasoning for delaying unarmed patrols on Oct. 27.

Part of the Reimagine Campus Safety plan being developed by Percy and Halliburton—which includes unarmed patrols— requires a minimum of at least two officers be on duty during every shift. Due to the recent retirements of two sworn officers and the resignation of a third, that requirement cannot be met.

The shift to unarmed patrols also requires updating hundreds of policies and procedures relating to CPSO, and until those updates have been legally reviewed and approved by the University Public Safety Oversight Committee (UPSOC), officers will remain armed.

The university is also working with the City of Portland and the Portland Police Bureau on ways for those organizations to support CPSO when they begin unarmed patrols.

“The delay is due to low staff numbers, but also due to delays in negotiating a new operating agreement with the Portland Police Bureau and rewriting 500 pages in policies and procedures,” said PSU Media Director Christina Williams. “We are undertaking what amounts to a cultural shift in policing.”

Percy and Halliburton also emphasized the magnitude of disarming campus safety officers.

“We are unaware of any other police agency in the nation that has shifted from armed to unarmed patrols by sworn officers,” Percy stated. “Agencies across the country are contacting us wanting to know how we are going about creating this new reality.”

“This is groundbreaking work,” Halliburton said. “I have been and will continue to be transparent about the process of transferring and transforming my agency into one that leaves firearms behind.”

An additional reason cited for delaying unarmed patrols was the recent vandalism of the CPSO office during protests on Oct. 11.

“On Oct. 11, the campus public safety office was severely damaged,” Halliburton said in the video message. “Our officers and our staff inside were traumatized. For me, I take this personal. Someone has to show what peace looks like. You cannot continue to fight aggression with aggression.”

At this time, it is unclear when campus safety officers will be able to begin patrolling unarmed.

“We haven’t set a new date, but have committed to be transparent about the progress,” Williams said. “Recruiting and hiring takes time. It’s a fluid process. And once they have been hired, officers new to police work must complete four months of training from Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training before they can patrol. That adds to our timeline.”

A virtual town hall event is being organized for mid to late November, where Halliburton, Percy and a representative or two from UPSOC and/or the Reimagine Public Safety Committee will answer questions from attendees about public safety at PSU. The official date has not yet been announced, but is expected to be announced this week, according to Williams.

Percy and Halliburton both stated that transparency in the process of disarming officers is paramount. Percy stated in the interest of transparency, PSU will continue to release progress reports, as well as online updates regarding the hiring process of new officers.

An additional announcement was made by Halliburton on Oct. 29, stating that, beginning Nov. 1, CPSO would suspend 24/7 officer patrols on campus. Instead, officers will patrol between 7 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday–Friday. According to Halliburton, the change is due to the low amount of officers on staff. PSU dispatch officers will still be available 24/7 and will route emergency calls to the Portland Police Bureau.

Additionally, Halliburton stated sworn CPSO police officers will provide 24 hour coverage on Nov. 3–4 due to anticipated protests related to the election. Non-sworn officers—who patrol unarmed—will also provide additional coverage.

According to Williams, the anticipated protests on election day played no role in the decision to delay unarmed patrols.

The decision to begin disarming CPSO came after years of activism from the campus community, mainly from the group Disarm PSU, which formed in 2014 after the PSU Board of Trustees passed a resolution to hire sworn officers, who carry guns.

According to Disarm PSU’s website: “We are concerned for students, faculty, staff, community partners and alumni of Portland State University. Our request is simple, we are calling for the immediate action to disarm campus security on our campus.”

In 2018, campus security shot and killed Navy veteran Jason Washington, a Black man, during a scuffle outside of a bar near campus. His death reignited Disarm PSU’s activism, but the university chose to keep armed officers.

When Black Lives Matter protests swept the nation in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Disarm PSU experienced another resurgence of energy. After multiple protests outside of the CPSO office and letters to the BOT from nearly every corner of the university, President Percy and Chief Halliburton announced that PSU would begin the process of disarming CPSO.

“Over the past few weeks we have listened to many voices across our campus,” Percy stated in August. “The calls for change that we are hearing at PSU are ringing out across our nation. We must find a new way to protect the safety of our community, one that eliminates systemic racism and promotes the dignity of all who come to our urban campus.”

“This is a historic event in the world of police work,” Halliburton said in an August video message. “I understand it’s going to have its challenges, but it’s the right thing to do for Portland State. We will still protect our campus. We will still provide police services. We will have police officers available. We will have them here, but they will be unarmed.”

After the announcement, Disarm PSU released this statement: “After seven years of organizing, protesting, collaborating, and coalition-building, the members of #DisarmPSU are thrilled by today’s announcement from President Percy that CPSO will patrol campus without firearms. We appreciate the active listening and the commitment to change demonstrated by President Percy, and members of the Board of Trustees, and acknowledge the labor of all involved over the past seven years.”

According to Halliburton, when unarmed patrols begin, officers will instead patrol with “non-lethal tasers,” and a stock-pile of firearms will be located in the CPSO office for a small number of emergencies, such as an active shooter situation.

“I’ve examined my own experience dealing with police as a civilian,” Halliburton stated at the time of the announcement, “and I must tell you, things must change. And here at [PSU], I am so proud to be a part of this historic, groundbreaking way of doing police work.”

In his most recent video message, Halliburton concluded by saying: “We will take this first step at [PSU], and it is my hope that others in this country will look to us to see how we made it successful. Thank you for your patience, and most of all your support in this process.”