Travel advisories for U.S. international students as Trump prepares to take office
Several U.S. universities have issued advisories to international students and staff, urging them to return to campus before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office in January. The warnings stem from fears surrounding Trump’s proposed immigration policies, which include mass deportations and visa restrictions.
“All international students are worried right now,” Professor Chloe East from the University of Colorado Denver told the BBC.
Trump, a Republican, has promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, with the potential use of military assistance. According to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, over 400,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in U.S. higher education. However, concerns extend beyond undocumented students.
“Students are incredibly overwhelmed and stressed out right now as a result of the uncertainty around immigration,” Prof. East said. “A lot of students have concerns about their visas and whether they’ll be allowed to continue their education.”
The University of Massachusetts recently issued a travel advisory recommending that international students and faculty “strongly consider” returning from winter break before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
“Based on previous experience with travel bans that were enacted in the first Trump administration in 2016, the Office of Global Affairs is making this advisory out of an abundance of caution,” the university stated.
During his first presidency in 2017, Trump signed an executive order banning nationals from several predominantly Muslim nations, as well as North Korea and Venezuela, from entering the U.S. He also proposed limitations on student visas.
Other institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Wesleyan University, have issued similar advisories. Yale University’s Office of International Students and Scholars held a webinar to address students’ concerns over potential immigration policy changes. Trump has previously attempted to terminate the Obama-era program, which protects over half a million individuals who came to the U.S. as children from deportation.
“[Trump] claims that he is only interested in keeping illegal immigrants out of the country, but he also kind of tries to move the goal post a lot of times,” Maeda added. “I feel like us international students with a visa might get affected, and it’ll become easier to deport us.”
