Latitudes

Students alarmed by presidential order to cancel protesters’ visas

Afraid. Worried. Insecure.

Those are a few of the words international students used in response to an executive order signed last week by President Donald J. Trump that said foreign students and scholars could be deported for protesting the Israel-Hamas war.

The White House directive, on combating antisemitism, said that colleges should “monitor” students and employees who take part in pro-Palestinian protests, which could lead to “actions to remove” them from the country. “We will find you, and we will deport you,” Trump said in a fact sheet released with the order.

During his presidential campaign, Trump castigated colleges that he said were not doing enough to hold pro-Palestinian demonstrators responsible for antisemitic behavior.

The Chronicle heard from more than two dozen international students, postdoctoral fellows, and recent graduates working in the United States, all of whom asked not to be named because of concerns about the impact of speaking out on their visa status. They expressed anxiety, uncertainty, and even fear about the presidential order.

“I don’t feel safe,” a student at Columbia University wrote in an email. The university is one of five that the U.S. Department of Education announced on Monday that it was investigating for “antisemitic harassment.”

The student said he attended a single protest and was not among those arrested when police cleared an encampment from a campus building last spring. Still, he said he was “shaken” by the executive order and felt “not sure what rights I have as an international student in this country.”

Legal experts have said that the Trump administration can’t deport foreign students for exercising their First Amendment rights, which also apply to noncitizens. But students can lose their visas if they are convicted of a crime or if they are suspended for a long period of time, thus failing to meet the requirement for studying full time. Last year a British Ph.D. student at Cornell University said he was facing possible deportation after being arrested during a campus protest; in the end, the university allowed him to remain enrolled.

Many students said the executive order would keep them from taking part in demonstrations, even those unrelated to the Israel-Hamas war. “I know how sensitive it can be for us, international students, to engage even in peaceful protests,” said one graduate who is on a student visa while working through the optional practical training program. “I am from Mexico, and right now, the punitive policies from [Donald Trump] 2.0 made me think twice about supporting my community to defend its rights.”

Others said the order reinforced already-held fears that speaking out could jeopardize their visa status. One recent graduate said they “absolutely did not feel safe” taking part in Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and was “incredibly anxious” after last week’s announcement.

Several students were alarmed by language in the order that directed colleges to monitor and “report” on students and staff members. “Is the OISS going to police us?” wrote one, referring to the international-student office. She said she was discouraged that administrators at her institution had not made any statements supporting foreign students or said how they would interpret the federal guidance.

And one student said the order had upsetting echoes of restrictions on speech at home in China. He said he had felt comfortable taking part in a 2022 vigil against the Chinese government’s “zero Covid” policy on his campus. Now, he wrote, “even in America I feel that I do not have rights.”

USAID-funding freeze hits colleges

A freeze on foreign aid has paralyzed some international research projects, with threats to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development ratcheting up anxiety.

Colleges house many of the aid agency’s “innovation labs,” which support overseas projects in areas like agricultural sustainability, nutrition, and food safety. They often take the lead on USAID’s capacity-building work in education, economic development, and public health. The agency also supports graduate-student and scholar exchanges.

Courts have blocked a governmentwide moratorium on federal grants and loans. But a narrower pause on foreign aid remains in place, and concerns increased over the weekend after Elon Musk, the tech entrepreneur who is leading Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal government, said on social media that he was working to shut down USAID. On Tuesday night, the administration announced that most of the agency’s administrative staff would be placed on leave.

Efforts to dismantle the agency have thrown global humanitarian assistance into disarray. On Monday, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, said he was taking over as acting USAID administrator and would review its programs.

On campuses, work on USAID-funded research has largely been halted. A staff member with a higher-education association called that concerning but said comments by Rubio that much of USAID’s work would continue under the State Department made him hopeful that college projects could be reinstated.

Florida moves to strip in-state tuition for undocumented students

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers in Florida want to end the state’s decade-old in-state tuition waiver for some undocumented students — but they can’t agree on broader immigration legislation.

The state Legislature passed a bill last week rolling back the tuition benefit. About 6,600 students qualified for the tuition break, which goes to students without legal immigration status who attended three years of high school in Florida, according to legislative estimates.

But DeSantis has threatened to veto the measure — which, among other provisions, mandates the death penalty for undocumented immigrants convicted of certain violent crimes — as insufficiently tough.

Meanwhile, legislation proposed in New Mexico would allow students to qualify for state financial aid regardless of immigration status.

The new international student

The stereotype that international students predominantly hail from wealthy families persists in higher education. But today’s students are often focused on college costs and looking for financial support.

Join me and a panel of experts for a Chronicle virtual forum on strategies for recruiting a new generation of budget-conscious international students. Register for the webinar, on February 19 at 2 p.m. ET, here.

Around the globe

Faculty members at the University of Kansas are writing letters to support the reinstatement of Franklin Tao, a professor who was fired after he was wrongfully accused of spying for China. Although Tao was acquitted, he has not been rehired.

The number of student visas issued in Canada in 2024 fell by 45 percent, following a government-imposed cap.

The chief executive of the British Council said the future of the “U.K.’s greatest international cheerleader” could be in doubt if the academic- and cultural-exchange organization did not get financial help from the British government.

The European University Association has published guidance for protecting and promoting academic freedom.

Female college students from Afghanistan may be allowed to study in neighboring Pakistan if accompanied by a male guardian. The Taliban cut off schooling for women and girls after it took power.

The Vietnamese government wants its higher-education system to be among the 10 best in Asia.

Thanks for reading. I always welcome your feedback and ideas for future reporting, so drop me a line at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. You can also connect with me on X, LinkedIn, or Bluesky. If you like this newsletter, please share it with colleagues and friends. They can sign up here.