PITTSBURGH, PA (July 13, 2020) The City of Pittsburgh has joined a suit filed by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology challenging a move by the Trump Administration and ICE to suspend international visas under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
Pittsburgh is one of 26 municipalities nationwide that signed onto an amicus brief in support of the Harvard-MIT suit today, seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the order. Mayor William Peduto released a statement on Friday denouncing the order.
It says in part:
“This matter will have a direct and deep impact on amici [cities] and their communities. First, amici care deeply about their foreign-born populations (some of the largest in the country) and have a strong interest in protecting the rights and well-being of all students and their families as they seek to complete their higher education in the United States. These interests are reflected in, for example, the adoption of welcoming-city ordinances and policies, the provision of healthcare and public health services to all, especially during the current pandemic, and the provision of funds for immigration legal services.
Second, the international students enrolled in amici’s educational institutions make significant economic contributions to amici’s communities.”
A copy of the brief is available here.
