The Trump administration may backtrack on rule barring international students from staying in U.S.

The Trump administration may be caving to criticism — and lawsuits — over a newly-unveiled U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement rule that would bar international students from remaining in the U.S. if their college instruction remained solely online in the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reports.

ICE hasn't formally published the rule, so there's still time for the White House to amend it, and people familiar with the matter told the Journal that's a real possibility. The administration may not scrap the idea completely, but could instead scale it back following pressure from students, universities, tech companies, and states. Dozens of colleges and universities have already sued the administration.

Currently, the rules would mean foreign students at schools planning to rely only on online courses next semester, like Harvard University, would have to leave the U.S. Per the Journal, if a school switches to remote classes amid a worsening pandemic, those students would have to up and leave.

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If the White House does go through with the changes, however, one new iteration of the rule under consideration would allow returning students to remain in the U.S., while still preventing newly-enrolling students from entering, an official told the Journal. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.