Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Spurs Brain Drain of International Talent

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Spurs Brain Drain of International Talent

Close up of american visa label in passport.

Getty Images/Alexander W. Helin

This article is part of a short series examining the Trump administration’s impact on international students in American higher education. This is the second and final installment of the series, which is focused on F1 student visa-to-citizenship pipelines.

The first part of the series, entitled “ Legal Battles Continue for International Students With Pro-Palestinian Views,” was about ongoing litigation against the Trump administration for ideological deportations in higher education.


One of the main reasons a Northwestern Chinese international student came to the U.S. for his Ph.D. after being admitted to universities in several countries was that he thought “the U.S. is the most powerful country in the world, and they probably had the most advanced technology.” He was originally planning to look for a job in the U.S. after finishing his Ph.D. The Ph.D. student is being kept anonymous for fear of retaliation against his legal status for speaking out.

“This kind of chaos has made me not only confused, but also very concerned about the future of staying in the U.S.,” he said. “Because if they can't justify their actions, it is intuitive to think they can do whatever they want to international students. This visa revocation thing, it really changed my career planning in the future.”

He said that while considering leaving the U.S., he’s open to moving to other countries besides China after finishing his Ph.D. here. In a recent poll from Nature, 255 of 340 Ph.D. student respondents said the disruptions to scientific research and funding by the Trump administration prompted them to consider leaving the U.S.

“I just came here to join the lab and to do the research I want to do,” he said.

Sarah Spreitzer from the American Council on Education said she worries that the instability surrounding immigration will make the U.S. less competitive for international students, propelling a brain drain.

“We've not only seen efforts to try to recruit international students who may be worried about studying in the U.S., but we have also seen efforts from various countries in recruiting scientists who previously may have been working in the United States,” Spreitzer said. “That's not only our domestic scientists, but also our international people.”

The American higher education system — lauded internationally for its STEM and Humanities research, innovation and advancement of technology and culture, and diverse student bodies — has offered a viable pathway to U.S. citizenship for international students through the F1 visa since the 1950s.

However, the Trump administration’s recent visa revocations and subsequent restorations, as well as its sweeping deportation agenda, have forced many international students to rethink their post-graduate plans for employment and consider other countries to start their careers.

According to Pew Research, the U.S. has long hosted the world’s largest share of international students and set its own record for the highest number of international students, at 1.1 million in November 2024, according to the Institute for International Education.

The most common pathway for international students to stay in the U.S. after their collegiate tenure is to transition from an F1 student visa to the H-1B work visa or to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which allows the holder to continue residing in the U.S. on the condition of employment. According to Pew Research, between 2004-2016, the U.S. offered almost 1.5 million OPT work authorizations and 1.5 million H-1B work authorizations.

The latest advancements in technology and equipment, as well as research opportunities, are two reasons international students choose to study abroad in the U.S. Professor Anthony Hernandez at the Educational Policy Studies Department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, said one of his international students shared with him how scarce research opportunities were becoming.

“One of my students shared with me yesterday that students who are in graduate programs, who are international students, who are in postdocs, are seeing the money dry up and the opportunities dry up,” he said. “My students are hard-working and tremendous at this place. You really have to be a top student to be here.”

Hernandez added that the Trump administration’s visa revocations were part of a broader attack on the diversity of college campuses.

“They are intentionally attacking diversity, and then who can be seen as part of the American identity,” he said. “Imagine all of their hopes and dreams as young international students coming to this place, but with this type of project being weaponized to exclude students from international backgrounds, it would render invisible their experiences and try to portray a particular American profile that is not reflective of them.”

The Ph.D. international student from Northwestern cited the diversity of American universities as one of his primary reasons for choosing the U.S. for his studies.

“I've always seen the U.S. as a very diverse country, as a country with a very diverse people, which is what I want, just to interact with different people and to experience different cultures,” he said. “Most people I met, even I would say, all of the people I met, they are super friendly and they are super inclusive. I have had a very great time talking with them and working with them, but I also understand that the country itself is shifting a little bit toward not very friendly to foreign nationals.”

Another Chinese international student from Northwestern said she saw a lot of unverified information on Red Note—a Chinese social media platform that has gained traction as a TikTok alternative in the U.S.—about the Trump administration’s F1 visa revocations. She shared how one post alleged that a domestic dispute between a woman and her boyfriend, in which the police were called but no charges were filed, led to a visa revocation.

The international student is being kept anonymous for fear of retaliation against her legal status for speaking out.

Such posts, combined with the lack of transparency around why international students’ visas were being revoked, led to many taking measures such as reducing their social media presence or not discussing political opinions in public settings or platforms. Others felt such measures defeated the purpose of studying abroad.

“I feel like if I have to do so many extra things, then why did I come here in the first place. At least back home, I know where everyone stands,” she said. “I'm not going to change my views, or change how I talk about things to people I trust just because there's this sword over my head.”

In April, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it would begin monitoring visa and green card holders’ social media and screening them for national security threats and antisemitism. Some Democrats have been concerned with how the Trump administration has weaponized antisemitism against critics of the state of Israel, particularly against college students participating in protests like Mahmoud Khalil and Leqaa Kordia from Columbia University.

“EVERYONE should be on notice. If you’re a guest in our country – act like it. Our robust social media vetting program to identify national security & public safety risks never stops,” USCIS tweeted on April 29.

Most university student governments have a representative for the international student community. These international student representatives, who personally navigate the uncertainty around student visas while simultaneously representing other international students, have come under the spotlight as their campus constituents face unprecedented challenges.

Student leaders at the UC quickly pushed for remote learning opportunities for impacted students. As part of their advocacy, they called for timely disclosures of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's presence on University of California campuses.

“It's like an obligation in the student perspective, to stand up for times where these kinds of crackdowns happen and times students feel like they're being or honestly are being threatened,” an international student representative from the University of California said. She is being kept anonymous for fear of retaliation against his legal status for speaking out.

Atmika Iyer is a graduate student in Northwestern Medill’s Politics, Policy, and Foreign Affairs reporting program. Atmika is also a journalism intern with the Fulcrum.

The Fulcrum is committed to nurturing the next generation of journalists. Learn how by clicking HERE.

Read More

International Students Cope With Growing Mental Health Issues
woman in brown sweater covering her face with her hand
Photo by Dev Asangbam on Unsplash

International Students Cope With Growing Mental Health Issues

Maeve Zhu, an undergraduate at the University of Washington, said moving to Seattle with hopes of studying computer science quickly became overwhelming.

"The hardest part for adjusting to life in the U.S. as an international undergrad was also my first year living overseas alone without my parents around me," said Maeve Zhu, an undergraduate at UW. "Trying to manage your time, your money, and your energy, all while being so lonely, the first year felt like living in a nightmare."

Keep ReadingShow less
Kids' Healthcare Can't Withstand Medicaid Cuts

The risk to children’s hospitals, which rely heavily on Medicaid funding, is often unrecognized. Children’s health needs greater investment, not less.

Getty Images, FS Productions

Kids' Healthcare Can't Withstand Medicaid Cuts

Last year, my daughter’s elementary school science teacher surprised me with a midday phone call. During a nature center field trip, my eight year old fell off a balance beam and seriously hurt her arm. I picked my daughter up and drove straight to the children’s hospital, where I knew she would get everything she needed. Hours later, we were headed home, injury addressed, pain controlled, appropriate follow-up secured, and her arm in a cast after x-rays revealed fractures across both forearm bones.

That children’s hospital, part of a regional academic medical center, is thirty minutes away from our home. Its proximity assures me that we have access to everything my kids could possibly need medically. Until this year, I took this access for granted. Now, as the structure of the classroom yields to summer’s longer, more freeform days, some of the nation’s most important programs scaffolding kids’ health could collapse under the pressure imposed by proposed legislative budget cuts. As a pediatric doctor and as a parent, slashing Medicaid concerns me the most.

Keep ReadingShow less
U.S. Strikes Iran Nuclear Sites: Trump’s Pivot Amid Middle East Crisis

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine discusses the mission details of a strike on Iran during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia.

(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

U.S. Strikes Iran Nuclear Sites: Trump’s Pivot Amid Middle East Crisis

In his televised address to the nation Saturday night regarding the U.S. strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump declared that the attacks targeted “the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s number one state sponsor of terror.” He framed the operation as a necessary response to decades of Iranian aggression, citing past attacks on U.S. personnel and Tehran’s support for militant proxies.

While those justifications were likely key drivers, the decision to intervene was also shaped by a complex interplay of political strategy, alliance dynamics, and considerations of personal legacy.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Medical Community Tells Congress That Telehealth Needs Permanent Federal Support
person wearing lavatory gown with green stethoscope on neck using phone while standing

The Medical Community Tells Congress That Telehealth Needs Permanent Federal Support

WASHINGTON–In March 2020, Stephanie Hendrick, a retired teacher in Roanoke, Virginia, contracted COVID-19, a virus that over 110 million people in the U.S. would contract over the next couple of years.

She recovered from the initial illness, but like many, she soon began experiencing long COVID symptoms. In the early months of the pandemic, hospitals and medical centers prioritized care for individuals with active COVID-19 infections, and pandemic restrictions limited travel and in-person treatment for other medical conditions. Hendrick’s options for care for long COVID were limited.

Keep ReadingShow less