Fear of Trump’s entry bans: universities recommend early returns

On January 20th the time has come: Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States will take place in Washington DC. Although there are still three weeks until then, US universities have warned their foreign students. The recommendation is that you should return from the winter holidays earlier to avoid complications when entering the country.

Already in 2017, at the beginning of his last term in office, Trump had imposed an entry ban that affected numerous students. As a result, they were stuck at home and were initially unable to travel to their places of study. Some universities want to prevent this situation with their appeal.

This puts a lot of strain on those affected. “It’s a scary time for international students,” Pramath Pratap Misra, 23, a student from India who earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from New York University this year, told CNN.

“A travel ban will likely go into effect shortly after the inauguration,” warned Cornell University’s Office of Global Learning late last month. “The ban will likely include citizens of countries targeted during Trump’s first term: Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen and Somalia. That list could include new countries are added, especially China and India.”

There were 1.1 million international students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities in the 2023-24 academic year. After his return, Donald Trump announced tougher entry conditions for them. This also includes revoking student visas for “radical anti-American and anti-Semitic foreigners.” This threat is likely to particularly affect students from Muslim countries.