GW Weekly Federal Update (September 26)

Recent Federal Actions

Federal Law Enforcement Activity

• September 24: The university learned that there was Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity at a private restaurant near the Foggy Bottom Campus, which reportedly resulted in agents detaining a number of individuals. We do not know the names of the individuals detained; however, we do not have information that suggests any are GW community members. We continue to monitor the federal law enforcement environment and will communicate any changes to campus operations with our community. Information related to federal law enforcement in D.C. is available on the Campus Advisories website and resources for international community members are available on the ISO website.

Congressional Budget Process

• Congress adjourned last week without reaching agreement on a stopgap funding bill ahead of the September 30 deadline. The House passed a continuing resolution (H.R. 5371) to extend funding through November 21 by a 217-212 vote, but the measure failed in the Senate, which also rejected a Democratic counterproposal to fund the government through October 31, extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, and reverse Medicaid cuts included in H.R. 1. The Senate is in recess through September 26, while the House is in recess through September 30. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is expected to bring the House-passed bill back for a vote when the Senate returns on September 29. If this vote fails and no alternatives are reached, the government will enter a shutdown on October 1. The university will provide additional guidance to the community on any significant impact to the university should a shutdown occur.

Visas and International Community

• September 19: The White House released a Presidential Proclamation, effective September 21, announcing restrictions on the entry of new H-1B workers into the U.S., unless their petitions are accompanied by a $100,000 supplemental payment to the U.S. government. The Department of Homeland Security subsequently shared additional guidance, stating:

  "This proclamation only applies prospectively to petitions that have not yet been filed. The proclamation does not apply to aliens who: are the beneficiaries of petitions that were filed prior to the effective date of the proclamation, are the beneficiaries of currently approved petitions, or are in possession of validly issued H-1B non-immigrant visas. All officers of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall ensure that their decisions are consistent with this guidance. The proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to or from the United States."
  
  GW continues to evaluate the full implications of this proclamation and will share updates as they are available. Please isogwu [dot] edu (reach out to the International Services Office) if you have questions about your individual circumstances or refer to the ISO website.
   

• September 22: Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging the department to end work authorizations for student visa holders. Grassley argued that such authorizations are inconsistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act, which limits student visas to educational purposes, and said they contribute to higher unemployment among recent U.S. graduates. He also raised national security concerns, citing more than 33,000 Chinese student visa holders with STEM work authorizations and referencing FBI warnings about intellectual property theft. Grassley requested a response from DHS by October 10 outlining the legal basis for these authorizations or a commitment to ending them.
   
• September 25: The nonprofit CASA filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking to block ICE from carrying out warrantless immigration arrests in Washington, D.C., without conducting an individualized assessment establishing probable cause that the person being arrested is unlawfully present in the country and likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained. The complaint alleges that the practice has “sown terror” in Latino communities in D.C.

The National Capital Region and Other States

• September 18: The House Oversight Committee held a hearing with testimony from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, and other officials. The discussion centered on public safety, crime, and D.C.’s authority to self-govern. District officials highlighted priorities such as expanding public safety training facilities, building a housing facility for people experiencing homelessness, and improving youth services, while also raising concerns about the scope of federal intervention. 
  
  Committee members debated juvenile crime, the role of federal law enforcement and the National Guard, and D.C.’s lack of voting representation in Congress. Lawmakers also confirmed that the $1 billion budget fix from the April continuing resolution (CR) is included in the CR released last week and previewed other proposals with potential impact on the city, including a measure that would shift the D.C. attorney general’s role from elected to appointed by the president, as well as legislation to limit diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in D.C. government.
   
• September 24: The ED Office for Civil Rights announced that it would be withholding $24 million to public school systems in Fairfax County, VA, New York City, and Chicago after the school systems missed a deadline to agree to stop giving students access to locker rooms and restrooms corresponding with their gender identity or risk losing funding for specialty magnet schools. 

Federal Actions Related to Other Universities

• Harvard: On September 19, the Department of Education (ED) placed Harvard on “heightened cash monitoring status,” which will require Harvard to use its own funds to disburse federal student aid before drawing down funds from ED. ED is also requiring Harvard to post an irrevocable letter of credit for $36 million or “provide other financial protection that is acceptable to [ED].” ED has taken this action because of “growing concerns regarding the university’s financial position” as a result of ED’s findings that Harvard violated Title VI and the related risk that it will lose access to federal student aid funding, as well as the fact that Harvard issued $1 billion in bonds to fund its operations.  
  
  In a separate action, the ED Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued Harvard a “denial of access letter” based on Harvard’s claimed refusal to provide OCR with certain documents OCR demanded in response to OCR’s compliance review to determine if Harvard is illegally considering race in its undergraduate admissions process.  OCR has given Harvard 20 days to provide the documents “or face further enforcement action.”
   
• UCLA: In the August 14 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update, we reported that the U.S. District Court in California ordered the National Science Foundation to restore approximately $81 million in suspended federal funding. On September 22, the same court ordered NIH, the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor to restore, at least on a temporary basis, an additional $500 million in suspended federal funding, concluding that the indefinite suspensions of grants was “likely arbitrary,” “capricious” and a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Department of Education

• September 17: ED issued a “Notice of Proposed Priority” in the Federal Register that competitive discretionary grants from ED will prioritize “patriotic education” that “teaches American history, values, and geography with an unbiased approach.” According to ED’s press release, “patriotic education presents American history in a way that is accurate, honest, and inspiring. It emphasizes a unifying and uplifting portrayal of the nation's founding ideals, highlights the progress the United States has made in living up to those principles, especially the battles fought by civil rights heroes to extend the protections of the U.S. Constitution to all citizens, and affirms that dedication to America's core values is both meaningful and justified.” The proposal is open to public comment until October 17.

Federal Grantmaking and Research

• September 16: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights announced that it has opened a compliance review against an “HHS-funded national organization that administers a legal scholarship program” to determine whether the organization uses race-based criteria in the provision of scholarships. The name of the organization under review has not been identified. 
   
• September 17: AAU and other organizations submitted joint comments to the NIH on its proposal to limit allowable publishing costs under NIH awards. The groups raised concerns that strict caps on expenses like article processing charges could force researchers to choose journals based on cost rather than relevance, while also widening gaps between institutions with greater funding capacity and those with fewer financial resources.
  
  They urged NIH to avoid per-publication caps, consider other approaches to managing rising costs, and give researchers flexibility in how they use grant funds. The letter also recommended at least a one-year transition period before any new rules take effect and called for NIH to track the policy’s impact on researchers, institutions, and the availability of federally funded research.
   
• September 22: The House passed H.R. 5100, which provides a one-year extension of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, ensuring they do not expire on September 30. The bill, approved under suspension of the rules, now heads to the Senate, where further debate on potential reforms is expected. 
  
  In a joint letter, higher education associations expressed strong support for the measure, emphasizing that extending SBIR/STTR is essential to sustaining U.S. innovation capacity and preventing disruption for researchers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses that rely on these programs. The associations also noted the extension allows time for thoughtful consideration of future program improvements.
   

• In the September 19 edition of the Weekly Federal Update, we reported ED has frozen an estimated $660 million worth of grant funding authorized by Congress under the “TRIO” outreach and student services programs, “designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds [such as] “low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to postbaccalaureate programs.”  
  
  Recently, delays in awarding federal grants for the TRIO McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program have raised uncertainty among participating institutions and students. While ED has pledged to issue continuation awards by September 30, at least 18 of the more than 200 McNair programs have already been canceled, according to the Council for Opportunity in Education.

  The delays come amid an ongoing lawsuit challenging the program’s eligibility criteria and broader proposals to reduce TRIO funding. McNair, which serves over 6,000 first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students annually, provides research, mentorship, and graduate school preparation. Advocates warn that continued uncertainty could disrupt services and limit graduate opportunities for eligible students.

Q & A

Some members of the community have asked various questions regarding identification and law enforcement. Common questions and answers include those below, which are also available on the D.C. Federalization webpage along with other FAQs. 

Do I need to show my identification if stopped by law enforcement officers?
While there is no general legal requirement in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia to present identification on demand, you may be required to present identification in certain situations. For example, you may be required to show your driver’s license while driving on public streets, and provide identification to enter into government buildings and apply for government benefits. Foreign nationals must be able to show proof of their lawful immigrant status.

If I am a citizen walking down the street, do I have to show identification when requested by law enforcement?
In general, no. Law enforcement officials may stop and ask you questions if you are in a public place, however they may only temporarily detain, search and question an individual if there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person has committed or is committing a crime. “Reasonable suspicion” is less than “probable cause,” but needs to be more than a hunch. The stop must be based on specific, articulable facts that would lead a reasonable person to believe that criminal activity has been, is, or is about to occur. If you choose not to produce identification, you may be detained for a longer period of time.

A recent limited decision by the Supreme Court, however, gives Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials the latitude to stop individuals they suspect are illegally present in the U.S. based on their appearance, language (or accent), or place of work. (That limited decision is still subject to further review by the courts.)

What kind of identification can I use to prove my citizenship?
A “Real ID,” a driver’s license or identification issued by a state under recently adopted federal standards, will likely be sufficient proof of citizenship for most situations. While a Real ID does not technically establish proof of citizenship, it does represent proof that the holder of the ID is lawfully living in the country, and generally meets federal security standards. You may also, however, choose to keep handy other standard forms of proof of citizenship: a passport or a birth certificate. Non-citizens must carry proof of their immigration status, e.g., green card, a physical copy of the Form I-94 record or nonimmigrant visa.

Resources and Reminders

About this Newsletter

GW publishes this weekly Federal Update to inform students, faculty and staff about how developments in the federal government affect higher education generally and the University. This newsletter includes timely information, answers to questions from GW community members, and resources for support.