Tory MPs and four prominent parliamentary committee chairmen are grouping together to pressure the prime minister into remove students from immigration statistics.
Ignoring student arrivals would make it easier for the government to meet their target of slashing migration to below 100,000, by removing around 75,000 people a year from stats.
However, critics point out that students use public resources just like other migrants and many get jobs or find partners and stay on after their studies.
Theresa May has previously argued that ignoring students would make it look like the government was “fiddling the figures” on migration. Her spokesman insisted Thursday her position had not changed.
However, MPs are set to put forward an amendment to the Immigration Bill in the spring, and six prominent Tories are promising to vote to remove students from stats if there is a vote on the issue.
According to The Guardian, the Home Secretary Amber Rudd believes there could be enough rebels to defeat the government.
The rebels include the vocal anti-Brexit chairman of the Treasury Select Committee Nicky Morgan.
She is joined by Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Sarah Wollaston, chairman of the Health Committee, Bob Neill, chairman of the Justice Committee, and MPs Stephen Hammond and Johnny Mercer.
Mrs. Morgan claimed to represent a “large, international-facing university in Loughborough” and said students were part of the “global Britain” brand.
She argued that people who wanted immigration reduced did not think students should be included in any crackdown. “People realise that students are in a group of their own,” she said.
Earlier this week, the leader of the Scottish Tories, Ruth Davidson, and Mrs. Rudd made their position clear, insisting they also wanted students removed from the stats.
Mrs. May has previously cited research suggesting up to 100,000 foreign students a year failed to return home after graduating. Others claim exit checks show the majority of foreign students do not overstay.