Universities freak out over potential Trump crackdown on illegal aliens, other immigration restrictions
‘A travel ban is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration,’ Cornell warned its community.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst also alerted students and professors, urging them to ‘strongly consider returning to the United States prior to the presidential inauguration day of January 20, 2025.’
Several colleges and universities have expressed concerns over President-elect Donald Trump’s desire to crack down on illegal immigration, among other immigration measures that Trump hopes to enforce.
Institutions of higher education are worried that future congressional legislation and executive action by Trump could impact the presence of illegal alien students in the U.S., as well as the status of international students, Politico noted.
Politico cited announcements from several schools.
Cornell University, for example, warned its community that “[t]he immigration landscape is likely to change under the new presidential administration.” It told readers: “A travel ban is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration,” and added that “[i]t is a good idea for international students, faculty, and staff from the above countries to be back in the U.S. in advance of the semester, which begins January 21, 2025.”
The University of Massachusetts Amherst also issued a “Holiday Break Travel Advisory” recommending that the school’s “international community” would “strongly consider returning to the United States prior to the presidential inauguration day of January 20, 2025 if they are planning on traveling internationally during the winter holiday break.”
The university noted that this announcement was made out of “an abundance of caution to hopefully prevent any possible travel disruption to members of our international community.”
“There’s a lot of interest, concern, anxiety and a desire to be truly prepared for how best to act when policies come,” said Miriam Feldblum, the co-founder and executive director of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, according to Politico.
Politico also reported that Congress is considering legislation titled the “Crucial Communism Teaching Act,” which aims to teach high schoolers about the horrors and massacres committed by communist regimes.
The bill would make the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation nonprofit provide resources to teach high schoolers about communism, in order to help students “learn that communism has led to the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims worldwide,” “understand the dangers of communism and similar political ideologies,” and “understand that 1,500,000,000 people 20 still suffer under communism.”
