For this project, I decided to focus on one of the angles of how the newly changed immigration policy impacted international students in the United States, which is related to my Final Project. For this angle, I picked a few perspectives to share that included the government, the universities and the public from different social media and press outlets.
The government addresses the effects that immigration policy changes may have on international students
There are mixed messages from the government regarding the future of international students. On X, formerly known as Twitter, the U.S. Department of State Consular Affairs posted a reminder on March 4, addressing international students that they are “subject to all U.S. laws and the terms of their visas” and “any violation can result in visa revocation, prosecution and removal from the country.
However, an article published in Reuters suggests that Trump’s immigration policy in his second term in the White House poses no threat to international students. There was optimism even though “thousands of students were stuck in their home countries” when Trump “issued a travel ban against Muslim-dominated nations,” the first time he was in office in 2017.
Although, statistically, international students are not being targeted, fear remains.
Universities advise international students to return to the U.S. before Jan. 20
Universities rightfully share their concern for their international students looking back to Trump’s first term in the White House. CNN published an article sharing universities’ worry, which included New York University, Cornell University, the University of Southern California, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and more.
@educations.com This video is based on historical data and does not predict outcomes with certainty. We are only trying to ensure that all students are well informed about their study abroad destinations 🥰 #usa #studenttips #elections #internationalstudent #visa #studyabroad #america #fyp ♬ original sound – educations.com HQ
A TikTok video published by educations.com talks about how Trump’s first presidency had made immigration policy restrictions that affect “student and work visas, specifically the H1B that a lot of international students need (for work),” which most critics assume the same could happen again and adding to the mix is Trump’s intention to close the Department of Education.
However, international students are not the only ones who care about this topic.
The public and international students remain weary and skeptical about immigration policy changes
NBC News published a YouTube video explaining the situation between immigration policy changes, universities and their international students. In that video, Subhanjana Das, an international graduate student at Columbia University, shared her thoughts on when she found out her school asked international students traveling overseas during winter break to return to the U.S. before Trump’s inauguration with fear that a traveling ban might happen. Das was pessimistic about her visa renewal given the current immigration policy.
In a Reddit post titled “Internationals may want to skip applying for a few years” created by ApplyToCollege, there were 30 responses, one of which is an international student from China, SUgameplay, replied with a general conclusion, stated, “Will it be tough for international students in the next four years? Yes. Should international [students] stop applying as a result of Trump’s second term? No.”
Internationals may want to skip applying for a few years
byu/ExecutiveWatch inApplyingToCollege
Some remain hopeful while others continue to stay cautious.
I think this issue is more complicated than offering students from around the world to pursue higher education in the U.S. It involves the government wanting to control who is and is not allowed to be in this country, however, given the money that international students bring into the economy, there would be compromises and balance would need to be accomplished.