International students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued Monday by federal immigration authorities.

The guidelines, issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even amid growing concerns about the recent spread of COVID-19 among young adults. Colleges received the guidance the same day that some institutions, including Harvard University, announced that all instruction will be offered remotely.

The decision has left students like Hitomi Asano feeling anxious.

“I pretty much was born in Japan, but grew up in the states. And so, this is home to me,” she says. “I’m being kicked out and I haven’t really done anything to have them kick me out.

Asano is earning her doctorate from Emperor's College in California. She used to go for a few days every month but it all switched online when coronavirus hit in March. She's also in Red Bank working at a physical therapy and acupuncturist company. Asano says that she was hoping this job would be her road to earning a work visa but that would all be halted, if she would have to go back to Japan.

President Donald Trump has insisted that schools and colleges return to in-person instruction as soon as possible. Soon after the guidance was released, Trump repeated on Twitter that schools must reopen this fall, adding that Democrats want to keep schools closed “for political reasons, not for health reasons.”

“They think it will help them in November. Wrong, the people get it!” Trump wrote.

Under the updated rules, international students must take at least some of their classes in person. New visas will not be issued to students at schools or programs that are entirely online. And even at colleges offering a mix of in-person and online courses this fall, international students will be barred from taking all their classes online.

Gov. Phil Murphy reacted to the decision on Twitter Tuesday afternoon, writing, “Our colleges and universities are magnets for students worldwide. Due to shortsighted [ICE] rules, these students face deportation as classes move online. We can't remain a world leader in higher education if we shut the door on our students' futures.”

"My goal is to be able to spread awareness about acupuncture and holistic medicine and my goal is to be able to stay here and create a life for myself, the American Dream,” Asano says.

A “We the People” petition has been started that asks the federal government to allow international students to stay in the U.S. It has garnered more than 101,000 signatures.