After his historic win against Kamala Harris in the November 5 presidential election in the US, Trump is all set to take the oath of office on January 20, 2025.
During his election campaign, Trump vowed to sign executive orders on issues related to immigration and the economy on his first day as the 47th President of the US. “On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history,” he said during most of his election rallies.
Concerned over disruptions caused by travel bans when he earlier served as the US president, a few top US universities have started issuing travel advisories to their faculty members as well as international students, who might travel outside the US on January 20, PTI reported.
In total, India and China make up more than half (54%) of all the international students in the US, data from the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as well as the Institute of International Education shows.
For the first time since 2009, India emerged as the leading place of origin with 331,602 international students in the US during 2023/2024, surpassing China. This reflects a 23% jump from the prior period, as per the data from ‘Open Doors 2024 Report on International Educational Exchange’.
China witnessed a 4% decline and had 277,398 students in the US, taking the second leading place of origin. However, it remained the top-sending country when it comes to undergraduates and non-degree students (87,551 and 5,517).
Urging students to assess their travel plans during the forthcoming winter break, David Elwell, Associate Dean and Director at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) International Students Office, said, “Students who would need to apply for a new entry visa at the US Embassy/Consulate abroad to return to the US in their student status should assess the possibility of facing any extensive processing times and have a backup plan if they must travel abroad and wait for a new entry visa to be issued.”
Elwell noted that any processing delays might impact their ability to return to the US as planned.
In an advisory, the Office of Global Affairs at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, recently recommended that its international community, including those under UMass immigration sponsorship, consider returning before Trump’s inauguration.
Although it is not a requirement or mandate from UMass, the university said, “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 2017,” the Office of Global Affairs sent out this advisory out of an abundance of caution for preventing any travel disruptions, the news agency report said.
The Wesleyan Argus, a college newspaper for Wesleyan University, informed that the institution had been ‘evaluating the potential future impacts’ of the Trump administration on both the international and the undocumented students.
