International Education and Trump’s Second Term – What to Expect?
After the hotly contested election campaigns, Donald Trump is set to return to the White House. His return will definitely impact the American education system. Trump’s first term was like a whirlwind for U.S. education as he brought various policy reforms, including an increase in funding to Black colleges, tax imposition, and a historical change in student aid policy.
“Will his second presidency bring as many changes as the first?” This question is circulating to all national and international forums. If you are also curious to know, then this article is for you. Here, the experts of The Academic Papers UK will share some facts about the expected flow of international students in the U.S. during Trump’s second term.
Before moving further, let’s look at the key characteristics of Trump’s first-term policies.
Key Characteristics of Trump’s First-Term Policies on International Students
As per the WERN report, international student enrollment decreased by 12% to 15% during Donald Trump’s first presidential term. Trump’s restrictive education policies caused this notable decline.
One of the key features of his policies is the infamous “Travel Ban 3.0,” which restricts students from Libya, Syria, Somalia, North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela from coming to the U.S. to study. From 2016 to 2020, the government of America refused Chinese students’ visas as per the President’s order. At a private dinner, Trump himself said that “every Chinese student who comes to America to study was a spy.”
Stuart Anderson, a senior contributor to Forbes, opined that “If Donald Trump regains the presidency, international students and applicants for employment-based green cards may find Trump’s immigration policies will affect them more profoundly than many today imagine.”
Let’s explore the key highlights of this article before moving further.
Primary Focus Areas:
- Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 election brought various contentious discussion topics.
- The future of international students in America is one of them.
- During the Biden administration, the rate of student migration increased, but with Trump’s success, experts are exploring all the ways in which this rate could decline.
- Experts have identified deportation, debt waivers, post-study work opportunities, and the implementation of a national strategy as key considerations.
What International Students Should Expect from Trump’s Second Ter? Top 5 Considerations
The re-election of Trump on 5 November created major challenges for the American education department. The debate about shutting down America’s education system once again reignited. This is not a new idea at all; Trump ran the same campaign in 2016 to transfer the education authority to the states.
The president of the American Education Council (ACE), Ted Mitchell, said in a Live post-election podcast on 6 November, “I think I’ll just be honest about it: I’m very anxious,”.
He further added, “Going into the campaign, we had concerns about what a Republican administration might mean. I think that going through the campaign, those concerns deepened. We saw a campaign that had relentless attacks on higher education. And we have an [incoming] administration and maybe a congress that doesn’t believe that we’re [higher education] a positive good for society.”
1. Deportation
According to the Higher Education Immigration Portal, “there are almost 407,000 undocumented students present in the U.S., including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.”. On Thursday, 7 November, Trump told NBC News that his priority will be after sworn in the presidency is to make the U.S. border secure and powerful by deporting undocumented people, especially students. He further added that “His administration would have no choice but to carry them out at any cost.”
However, the president of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, Michael Roth, head-on declined Trump’s deportation policy and promised that he would be on the side of the university’s undocumented students as the law is equal for everyone.
He stated,” His university will do everything it can to protect the most vulnerable among us. The mass deportations [of foreign students] promised by president-elect Trump threaten our students who may be undocumented and are a cause of great concern to many in our community”.
2. Student’s Debt Waiver
The United States is struggling with an unprecedented student debt crisis because surging tuition costs compel students to complete their education by taking out loans. Therefore, the escalation of students’ debt is a pressing debate after Trump’s election.
Former President Joe Biden announced various initiatives to alleviate these debts. In fact, this was the key promise of the 2020 campaign. However, after getting the presidency, he faced many legal challenges, such as the Supreme Court’s rejection of his decision to forgive the debt of 40 million borrowers.
Trump’s stance on forgiving debts is clear; he always criticised the Biden administration for misleading students by promising that they would forgive their debts. Even during the last debate with Kamala Harris on 9 September, he referred to the Supreme Court’s decision on Biden students’ loan policies.
He praised the Supreme Court’s decision and said it was “very unfair to millions of people who have paid their debts.” So, after taking office as President of the U.S., it is highly possible that Trump would weaken or even repeal this student loan forgiveness program.
3. Post-study Work Opportunity
In June this year, in the All-In Podcast hosted by Silicon Valley technology investors, Trump said overseas students must be eligible for green cards. He further added that on day one, after becoming the next president of America, he would take action on this issue and help American companies hire skilled workers.
He stated his motto in such words, “What I want to do and what I will do is, you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically as part of your diploma a green card to be able to stay in this country,”. He also said, “And that includes junior colleges too; anybody graduates from a college. You go there for two years or four years,”
However, some commentators argued that his words contradict his previous policies, such as making it hard for skilled workers to get an H1-B visa. He also restricted Optional Practical Training (OPT) for skilled workers during his first tenure.
In response to the critics’ comments, Trump’s team gave the caveat that it “only applies to the most thoroughly vetted college graduates who would never undercut American wages or workers”.
4. Involvement in Industry
The Department of Education of America, which consists of 160 colleges and universities, sent an open letter to both candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. In this letter, the education body proposed six recommendations for international students, and involvement in the industry is one of them.
The officials wrote in this letter, “We must remain a welcoming country to international students, scholars, scientists, and researchers who enrich our campuses and play an important role in performing the research that creates knowledge, supports U.S. economic growth, and fuels American innovation,” they further said. “We urge the next administration to improve the visa processes and pathways that attract global talent to the United States.”
They further stated while discussing with Study Travel Magazines that “It is worth pointing out that often with Trump, there is a lot of conflicting information. There was a time when he talked about handing out green cards along with STEM diplomas, so it is hard to know what the reality looks like.” Therefore, it is the most contentious topic these days.
5. National Strategy
One of the key issues that most international students face is the implementation of a national strategy for making the U.S. a coordinated, competitive, and welcoming study hub. The former administration of Joe Biden introduced various policies to move the country closer to the United States. Under his administration, a joint statement on renewed international education was issued, which introduced a coordinated study approach.
International education was also added for the first time in the Trade Administration’s National Export Strategy. However, after the Trump appointment, experts are worried about these implementations. Their greatest concern is Trump’s stance on China, as they think that America should learn from China despite the country’s economic rivalry. Nonetheless, Trump’s stern thinking may create hurdles in making America a hub for international education.
Conclusion
The Donald Trump victory may impact the students’ migration landscape for international education stakeholders. Trump has never been a supporter of opening doors for students outside America. However, some policies regarding international education are ambiguous, such as his emphasis on the involvement of skilled workers in the industry and his imposing restrictions on getting H1-B visas.
This ambiguity compels teachers to include this topic in coursework. It is quite interesting to explore the policies for international students during Trump’s second term. Still, some students have no interest in politics, so they can avail of services from the best-rated coursework writing platforms.
Besides, they can get assistance from this article as we have clearly mentioned what policies are being introduced for overseas students in Biden’s administration and what commendation Trump could bring in these policies.
