More than a dozen U.S. universities have issued guidance urging international students to return to campus in time for President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20th.
President Trump has repeatedly threatened to launch a mass deportation effort if he returns to office, including potentially stripping the status of many people currently in the country legally. He has also threatened to cancel the visas of student protesters and issued travel bans during his first term that left thousands stranded around the world.
“The immigration landscape is likely to change under the new presidential administration. This guidance is intended to inform and assist Cornell University's international students, faculty, and staff.” said in the notice, naming students from countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Libya and North Korea. , Syria, Venezuela, Yemen and Somalia.
The school also warns international students to travel with additional documentation showing their connection to an American university.
“Given that Presidential Inauguration Day will take place on Monday, January 20, 2025, and given the uncertainty of President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policy plans, the safest way to avoid re-entry difficulties is to do so in January. 19 of the spring semester and several days thereafter,'' Wesleyan University said.
A record number of 1.1 million international students attended U.S. universities in the 2023-24 academic year.
President Trump has already threatened to “revoke the student visas of radically anti-American and anti-Semitic foreigners at our universities,'' suggesting that military repression may play a role in his plans. .
“Since our last message in early November, many of you have asked about potential changes to immigration policy,” Harvard University told international students. “Our repeated advice to those who share concerns about situations where their return from vacation is interrupted or delayed is that before the start of the school year, before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in January, Plan your time.”
Johns Hopkins University, University of Southern California, Northeastern University, Brown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Haverford University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Yale University, Princeton University, and Quinnipiac University also issued similar statements. and the University of Connecticut.
