Some Ivy League schools have been advising foreign students to rush back from their Christmas break before Donald Trump becomes president and introduces travel bans.
Top institutions including Harvard and NYU have given out recommendations for international pupils in light of Trump’s pledges to instate more hardline immigration policies on his return to the White House on January 20.
There were more than 1.1 million international students enrolled in American colleges and universities over the last academic year, and many are now likely to be weighing up their futures in light of the incoming new regime.
‘It’s a scary time for international students,’ recent graduate Pramath Pratap Misra, who is from India, told CNN.
The 23-year-old earned a bachelor’s degree in political science this year from NYU – the school with the most international students in the US during the last academic year at 27,000.
Trump has pledged to launch what he calls ‘the biggest mass deportation in American history’ during his second term in office.
Within hours of his inauguration as America’s 47th president, Trump is expected to sign a series of executive orders, including a radical move to close the border, citing an immigration crisis.
Trump has also promised to expand his previous travel ban on people from majority Muslim countries, and the revocation of student visas of ‘radical anti-American and antisemitic foreigners’.
Top institutions including Harvard (pictured) and NYU have given out recommendations for international pupils in light of Trump’s pledges to instate more hardline immigration policies on his return to the White House on January 20
Foreign students usually come to the US on nonimmigrant visas which allow them to study in the country without carving out a legal pathway for them to stay post-graduation.
The first Trump administration made moves to restrict the entry of all non-American students and workers – and the issue of immigration is even more of a hot-button topic this time around.
Cornell University’s Office of Global Learning told students who are traveling abroad to return before January 21 or to ‘communicate with an advisor about your travel plans and be prepared for delays.’
‘A travel ban is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration,’ the university warned students in November.
‘The ban is likely to include citizens of the countries targeted in the first Trump administration: Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Somalia.
‘New countries could be added to this list, particularly China and India.’
At the University of Southern California, which hosts more than 17,000 international students per year, pupils were advised to return to the US one week ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
‘One or more executive orders impacting travel … and visa processing’ may be issued, the school said.
NYU has the most international students in the US during the last academic year at 27,000
‘While there’s no certainty such orders will be issued, the safest way to avoid any challenges is to be physically present in the U.S. before the Spring semester begins on January 13, 2025.’
Harvard University’s International Office also advised students to ‘budget time ahead of the semester start, prior to the January Martin Luther King holiday’ to avoid disruptions or delays.
Wesleyan University also recommended that any traveling students return by January 19 amid ‘uncertainties around President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for immigration-related policy.’
NYU issued a reassuring email to students shortly after the election in November, telling students that ‘as a global institution, we believe that the cross-border mobility of our students and scholars is of critical importance.’
‘We will be monitoring any immigration-related proposals, laws, and actions that could be of concern to our community,’ the email added.
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