US Colleges Urge International Students to Return Before Trump Inauguration Over Travel Ban Fears
A growing number of US colleges and universities are advising their international students to return to campus before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, amid concerns he may reinstate and expand travel bans similar to those implemented during his first term, The Associated Press reports.
While Trump’s specific plans remain unclear, over a dozen institutions have issued advisories, urging students to minimize potential risks to their academic visa status by returning to the US before the inauguration. Some schools’ spring semesters begin before the inauguration date, but for others, the concern is mitigating the risk of travel disruptions.
The heightened anxiety stems from Trump’s past actions. In January 2017, he issued an executive order banning travel to the US from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. This ban, which later expanded to include 15 nations, resulted in over 40,000 people being denied visas, including students, faculty, and other travelers. President Joe Biden rescinded the order upon taking office in 2021.
The US hosts over 1.1 million international students, with students from India and China representing more than half of the total. According to Open Doors data, some 43,800 students come from the 15 countries previously affected by Trump’s travel restrictions.
Although Trump’s transition team has not commented on the issue, Trump has previously stated his intention to revive the travel ban, potentially expanding it to include new countries and implementing “ideological screening” for non-US citizens, to bar those he deems “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots and maniacs.” Furthermore, he has threatened to “revoke the student visas of radical anti-American and anti-Semitic foreigners” in response to campus protests.
In light of these possibilities, a number of universities have taken precautionary measures. Institutions including Ivy League schools like Harvard and Brown, Boston’s Northeastern University and MIT, and others from Johns Hopkins to the University of Southern California have all issued advisories urging international students to return before Inauguration Day.
Cornell University has taken a particularly strong stance, informing its students that a travel ban involving the 13 nations previously targeted by Trump is “likely to go into effect soon after inauguration,” and that countries like China and India could be added. The university advised all students, faculty, and staff from these nations to return to campus before the semester starts on January 21.
Other schools, while not stating a ban is inevitable, have advised international students to plan ahead and prepare for potential delays at immigration control.
