Even though the past few months have signalled otherwise, President Trump yesterday shared that he is not against international students. But his acceptance is not as a personal choice but rather business necessity.
Voicing his opinions in an interview on Fox News, he shared that he does not necessarily want international students, but they are good business for US Universities and needed as such.
President Trump went as far as to acknowledge the fact that the international students (large part from China and India) are crucial to the American Higher Education Institutions.
“We take in trillions of dollars from students. The students pay more than double when they come in from most foreign countries, I want to see our school system thrive,” he replied to Laura Ingraham. He further added, “It’s not that I want them, but I view it as a business.”
He further suggested that he is inclined to increase the number of students from China. In his words, if the number of students from China were to be reduced or halved, the things will ‘go to hell very quickly’ in the education sector.
International Students and US Economy
Numbers never lie and the fact remains that international students are an important contributor to not just US Universities but also to the country’s US economy. As per NAFSA figures, the contribution of international students stood at $43.8 billion in the year 2024.
Furthermore, the international students – especially from China and India form a crucial part of the STEM infrastructure in the country. The industry has raised concerns over reduction in the international students leading to reduction in the country’s STEM pool.
Also Read | Why Studying in USA is not an ‘Intelligent Choice’ for Indian Students Today
A study published last month by Michael A. Clemens, Jeremy Neufeld, and Amy M. Nice titled Brain Freeze highlighted the ripple effect of reducing international students to the US economy.
A conservative estimate in the report suggests that the economy may suffer losses to the tune of $480 billion annually with a one third reduction in the number of international students.
Report further suggests an estimate reduction of 6% in the overall STEM workforce, and over 11% at the PhD level. These losses, authors point out, “would diminish the nation’s innovative capacity and, through well-documented productivity effects, reduce long-term GDP growth”.
Actions Don’t Match Words
These words, however, do little to assuage the sentiment caused by the recent policy changes and shifts. Notably, as many as 8000 student visas were revoked by the Trump Administration since January 2025 alone. These include a majority of Chinese as well as Indian students.
Also, the MAGA supporters continue to raise concern over ‘thousands of international students’ eroding seats for domestic students in the US Universities. Vice President JD Vance suggested that international students were encroaching on domestic students’ rights.
The recent policies are not helping either. Trump Administrations’ recent changes and suggested changes include reduction in H1B visas, rescinding OPT, time limits to student visas as well as a cap on international students. All these are expected to have a counter effect on the number of enrolments.