What Trump’s Inauguration May Mean For International Students

If you’re one to err on the side of caution and you’re in the higher ed community, then you’ll want to read on.

Inside Higher Ed just reported that many universities are advising international students abroad to return to the U.S. before Donald Trump’s inauguration next year on January 20th.

“Based on previous experience with travel bans that were enacted in the first Trump Administration in [2017], the Office of Global Affairs is making this advisory out of an abundance of caution to hopefully prevent any possible travel disruption to members of our international community,” the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s office shared on Instagram.

TRUMP BANNED MUSLIM TRAVELERS FOR 90 DAYS

On the seventh day after his first term back in 2016, Trump banned all travelers from seven Muslim nations from entering the US for 90 days, and several students and faculty who were abroad for winter vacation or research purposes weren’t able to return. At the time, there was significant backlash for disrupting the lives of many students and separating families.

“The safest way to avoid difficulty re-entering the country is to be physically present in the U.S. on January 19th and the days thereafter of the spring semester,” wrote Wesleyan’s Office of International Student Affairs in an email last Monday.

In 2017, Wesleyan University was among other schools that took a firm stance and vowed to protect their students against Trump’s threats to send them back to their home countries.

Both Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wesleyan have invited their international students to move back to campus early to avoid any potential shutouts.

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