Recent policies from the Trump administration are purposefully chipping away at international student enrollment. As a result, they’ve already begun disrupting nearly every sector of the U.S. economy. One of those centers—the Global Migration Center at the University of California, Davis—has been particularly hard hit by these actions. Consequently, international students can begin to seek educational opportunities in other countries including Canada, Europe, and Australia. Experts are sounding an alarm that the shift could be detrimental. It risks a long-term drop in the positive economic impact of foreign students in the U.S.
The enrollment of international students has had a storied history of economic benefit to American institutions and the economy as a whole. For the 2023-24 academic year, more than 1.1 million international students were estimated to have supported 378,175 U.S. jobs—nearly half of which were in non-STEM fields. Of these jobs, almost half were located in institutions of higher education. The other half went to non-government sectors like residential construction, food service, retail, transportation and insurance. Additionally, total economic contribution from international students hit an all-time high at $43.8 billion.
As tuition continues to increase, American universities are leaning on international students to make up the difference. This change occurs even as state and federal funding continues to dry up. In the meantime, foreign students find themselves in a very difficult financial situation when it comes to studying in the U.S. They get merit- and need-based financial assistance at much lower rates than American students.
In relaxation, economists such as Giovanni Peri, UC-Davis, have done quite a bit of research on the economic impacts of international migration. Peri highlights that many international students are now facing uncertainty regarding funding and visa issues, making them reconsider their educational options. “The new cohort of students that are coming from other countries, we’ve already lost a few of them because of the uncertainty of the funding and the visa that we’re providing,” said Peri.
Rejection of ideas for more strict immigration control has drastically reduced the rate at which international graduates remain in the U.S. Only 20% of these graduates remain for at least two years post-degree, largely owing to visa issues. This long-term drop-off will have serious ramifications on the labor market and broader economy in the near future.
David Bell, a labor economist, has researched the trends of foreign students’ enrollment in American institutions. He said the dramatic rise in this demographic warrants a new look. “The past couple of decades, the trend has been very, very strongly toward a steady increase in the number of international students,” he stated. Whatever the case, I would argue that it’s certainly worth asking whether we ought to be persisting with that ramp up or should we hold enrollment steady at today’s higher levels or even bring it down modestly.
Additionally, Bell pointed out that Trump’s inflammatory recent comments about Harvard have created a new spotlight on the issue. “It has taken Donald Trump’s crude and vengeful swipe at Harvard to draw much attention to the subject,” he remarked, highlighting how high-profile statements can influence public perception and policy.
The consequences of these policies are felt outside the world of education as well. Michael Lovenheim, a labor economist at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He’s fond of pointing out that international students make a powerful positive net contribution to the U.S. economy. “Foreign students kept applying in ever greater numbers, and universities happily admitted them, since non-Americans receive merit- and need-based financial assistance at much lower rates than Americans do,” Bell observed.
International students have borne the brunt of the impact of harmful and restrictive immigration policies. Consequently, many of these individuals are afraid to travel to major academic events, such as conferences, worried about border enforcement and their chance of being able to return to the U.S. Peri has seen firsthand how these concerns are affecting students: “They are really struggling with their funding. They are not traveling internationally. As I write this, a pair of my students are losing opportunities to present at international conferences in the next few months. Then they were afraid they would not have a place to go back to.
A series of legislative proposals have consistently proposed green cards for students who graduate with certain degrees from U.S. institutions. Unfortunately, not much has changed or moved in that direction. The current trajectory is one that indicates a shift to enforcement over education in terms of welcoming international students to our universities.