It was not immediately clear how many student visa holders would be affected by the move, but foreign students are a key source of revenue for many US universities as they often pay full tuition. Basically it is a bit of a joke.  If your school is being sensible and moving classes online, foreign students who have paid a fortune will be expelled from the country.  If they are stupid and don't care if their students live or die then ICE is happy for you to go there. 

ICE said it would not allow holders of student visas to remain in the country if their school was fully online for the fall. Those students must transfer or leave the country, or they potentially face deportation proceedings, according to the announcement.

The ICE guidance applies to holders of F-1 and M-1 visas, which are for academic and vocational students. The State Department issued 388,839 F visas and 9,518 M visas in fiscal 2019, according to the agency's data.

The guidance does not affect students taking classes in person. It also does not affect F-1 students taking a partial online course load, if their university certifies the student's instruction is not completely digital. M-1 vocational program students and F-1 English language training program students will not be allowed to take any classes online.