This Issue’s College Issue: A decline in international student college applications

To be an immigrant in any capacity within the United States has never been an easy undertaking. With the exclusion of perhaps the rich British bureaucrats that founded our nation, the concept of immigration has confused our nation for centuries. Our nation’s history is rooted deeply in the horrendous treatment of immigrants; for hundreds of years, with each new group that immigrated to the nation, the depressingly poor treatment of immigrants was merely perpetuated in a vicious cycle. Immigrants built our nation, yet many still continue to deny their importance and presence within it. For whatever reason, many prefer to illogically blame — in true American fashion — the nation’s problems upon the immigrant population. From the bowels of America and ascending into the White House, anti-immigrant rhetoric continues to plague our nation to this very day, and the situation seems to only be worsening.

The utter lack of respect that President Trump holds for the immigrant population is consistently astounding; the man speaks with such a complete lack of human decency toward immigrants that one is forced to question both his compassion and humanity as a political leader.  Never mind that Trump’s business “empire” — excluding his multiple bankruptcy filings, the credit for which can be attributed to Trump himself — was constructed and maintained through the work of many hardworking immigrant citizens, the dimwitted excuse for a president has persistently and systematically attacked immigrants in our nation without the slightest care for their humanity whatsoever. Of the seemingly endless failures of President Trump, the pinnacle is perhaps his ungodly treatment of immigrants; it is truly abysmal the lengths to which Trump demeans and assails the immigrant population.

The effects of Trump’s assaults upon the immigrant population have only begun to surface and will undoubtedly only continue to be revealed as time moves along. The widespread Day Without Immigrants protests exhibited the foundational importance that many immigrants uphold in our society. It was only when the daily activities of many throughout the nation were directly affected that an understanding of the presence and significance of immigrants in our society truly became visible.

However, the ramifications of Trump’s anti-immigrant decrees have also begun to reflect negatively upon an already struggling aspect of our society, that of the collegiate educational system.

According to a recent study published by U.S. News, nearly 40 percent of American universities have reported declines in international student applications over the last year. Though not necessarily a uniform trend across the nation, universities throughout the country are struggling with international student outreach and retention, directly affecting the success of each institution individually. President Trump’s recent travel bans — though declared unconstitutional by two courts — coupled with recent white supremacist attacks at the University of Maryland — the third in three months — and George Washington University, alongside numerous racial and ethnic attacks that have occurred in colleges throughout the nation since Trump’s election. It should be of no surprise to anybody that the international community is looking toward the United States with severe distrust and fear. The massive privileges that an American collegiate education has long provided have been essentially overridden by the potential danger of being in the nation as an immigrant, even in the capacity of a student. During the dumpster fire that was Trump’s first attempt at a travel ban, many international students already studying in America were left entirely unsure of whether or not even they could exit and reenter the nation. The simple fact that international students are avoiding our nation’s entire collegiate system altogether for fear of safety is such a dismal concept, and one that merely reiterates the massive amount of work our nation still needs to achieve with respect to immigrant equity and equality.

For those keen on economics, a declining population of international students does nothing but increase costs within the American collegiate system. Unlike American citizens, international students do not receive any federal financial aid, meaning their participation in the American collegiate system essentially — though not entirely — costs our nation’s taxpayers next to nothing. Trump — and his fantastically inept Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos — ought to seriously consider the financial repercussions of the declining international student population. This past academic year was the first in over a decade in which the international student application rate dropped. .

Recent anti-immigrant sentiment from political leaders throughout the nation has finally metamorphosed into a physical problem; international students are, unsurprisingly, seeking alternative outlets for collegiate education in order to maintain their safety. Trump will only start to care when the negative economic repercussions are revealed, but until then, the financial safety of numerous colleges throughout the nation remains a mystery. Shame on those throughout the nation who continue to berate the immigrant population. Your lack of humanity is truly terrible. For it is you, not the immigrant population, who is ruining our nation.