Dear New York Tech Community,

Each year, we welcome many students from around the world to our New York campuses—talented individuals who’ve greatly contributed to New York Tech’s richly diverse community of doers, thinkers, healers, and innovators.

And while the July 6 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) guidelines prohibiting students from remaining in the country if classes are held online will likely not impact New York Tech students because of our hybrid teaching model this fall, it strongly contradicts our institutional mission and the values of U.S. higher education as a whole. It also does not take into account the potentially dire situation international students would face if we were to experience another outbreak of COVID-19 and needed to alter our plans.

New York Tech opposes this recent policy decision, and we are working with our elected representatives, peers, and professional associations to alter ICE’s decision. We stand united in this effort on behalf of international students who enrich our campuses and open our eyes to new ways of thinking—students who have now been unfairly placed in a very difficult position, with a whole new set of burdens and stressful decisions before them.

Our campus reopening plans this fall aim to ensure the highest-quality education for all of our students in the safest possible campus environment. As noted above, this includes a hybrid modality that features a blend of in-person and virtual classes that meet the new criteria for international students who wish to travel to the U.S. to study.

In denouncing ICE’s new guidelines, we pledge continued support to our international students and will work with them on scheduling, visas, and other details to provide an exceptional educational experience at New York Tech that has minimal disruptions and maximum outcomes.

Sincerely,

Hank Foley, Ph.D.
President, New York Institute of Technology