The Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health firmly stands by Dean Ellen MacKenzie in her strong opposition to the decision of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to restrict the ability of students with F-1 visas to remain in the U.S. while pursuing academic studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision is cruel and self-defeating. The new rules fail to take into account the health and well-being of students and the ongoing relationship they have with their academic institutions. To ask students to choose between their health and their education deprives the world of new public health leaders, which are exactly what the world desperately needs.
Our Department was founded on principles of internationalism—the belief that we can overcome divisions of national boundaries, class, poverty, racism, sexism, and other obstacles to health equity and social justice through the promise of science, public health practice, and education. This government order goes against our founding principles and core values of fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment where students from all parts of the world feel welcomed and part of a large heterogeneous family that applies these values to address complex global health issues.
We are deeply committed to fully supporting our students and are working closely with the leadership of the Bloomberg School to ensure that students remain safe and that their studies are not interrupted due to the pandemic or misguided and unwarranted immigration rules.
The most up-to-date source of information on F-1 for JHU is our Office of International Services website, which also has links to other relevant sites. We will send you updates as soon as they become available.
