Universities Alert International Students On Potential Immigration Crackdown Under Trump (image @Pixabay - StockSnap)
Washington, DC, US: Universities in the United States urged international students and staff to return to campus before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January, claim reports. Several higher education institutes in the country reported that international students and staff members are feeling uncertain about their future amid concerns over the President-elect’s plans for mass deportation of immigrants, said BBC.
During his election campaign, Trump has repeatedly pledged to enact the largest deportation operation in history and even enlist the help of the US military to actualise the operation. He attempted to end the Obama-era program shielding over half a million migrants who came to the US as children from deportation during his first presidency.
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“Students are incredibly overwhelmed and stressed out right now as a result of the uncertainty around immigration,” BBC quoted professor Chloe East of the University of Colorado, Denver, as saying. “A lot of students have concerns about their visas and whether they’ll be allowed to continue their education,” he added.
In November, the University of Massachusetts issued a travel advisory to its international students, faculty, and staff, asking them to “strongly consider” returning to campus from winter break before Trump’s inaugural on January 5.
“Given that a new presidential administration can enact new policies on their first day in office (January 20), and 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 to hopefully prevent any possible travel disruption to members of our international community,” said the advisory.
It also added how a travel ban will look if enacted, and it cannot be clarified what or which countries will be affected.
According to the report, a webinar was conducted by the Office of International Students and Scholars earlier this month at Yale University. The webinar was conducted to field concerns among students regarding the potential immigration policy shifts.
The Wesleyan University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have also reportedly issued travel advisories for international students and staff asking them to consider returning to the US before January 20.
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During his first presidency, Trump signed an executive order banning nationals of several predominantly Muslim nations, as well as North Korea and Venezuela, from visiting the US. He also proposed several limitations on student visas. He made the moves during the first week of his presidency.
As per the Higher Education Immigration Portal, an estimated 408,000 undocumented students are enrolled in US higher education, representing about 1.9 percent of all postsecondary students.
Officials in Trump’s incoming administration have reportedly indicated that they will build massive holding facilities for undocumented immigrants on the deportation list. The Republican’s Border Tsar, Tom Homan, has even said that the removal of violent criminals and national security threats from the US will take priority under the new administration. However, Homan has not allayed the concerns of immigrant students.
