Trump’s second term has experts wondering about international students’ future

EdSource

November 18, 2024

Last year marked a record high number of international students who enrolled in a college or university in the United States. With the re-election of former President Donald Trump, concerns are growing, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

The Times cited a report from the Institute of International Education, which found that the United States has been home to 1.1 million international students during the 2023-24 academic year — a 7% uptick from the previous year.

The bulk of international students — more than half of whom come from China or India — attended colleges in California. USC, UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Diego were among the most common.

Trump’s re-election, however, has experts concerned about the availability of visas for international students. During Trump’s first term, foreign enrollment dropped by 15%, when it usually increases each year.

That was seen as part of a larger trend observed during his first term when he also implemented a travel ban on nationals from several Muslim-majority nations and initiated a trade war with China that led to reports of delays with visas for Chinese academics, according to the Times.

So far, Trump has said he wants to issue a ban on refugees and travelers from “Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Yemen or Libya or anywhere else that threatens our security.” Yet, his campaign has also promised that international graduates of U.S. universities will receive a green card.

“The rhetoric and campaigning is important because it signals the policies to come,” Gaurav Khanna, an economist at UC San Diego, told the Times.

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