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The Decline of Educational Diplomacy in Trump’s America

June 7, 2019 | Expert Insights

Background 

American universities are known for their cultural diversity and international students are considered valuable in bringing new perspectives to the classroom. The United States has been ranked first globally for its overall quality of higher education and hosts over a million international students. The number of international students, however, have been declining since 2017. A vast majority of all international students in the U.S. are Chinese, Indian, and Korean, but the future of these students hangs in the balance with Trump tightening the screws on immigration and engaging in trade wars with China, and now India as well. Chinese students make up one-third of the international applicant pool with a low rejection rate of 3.2%. But even among the 96.8% of those accepted, 13.5% of Chinese students were unable to study in the U.S. due to visa problems. Visa issues have also dissuaded Indians from studying in the U.S. In the past year alone, there has been a 12% decrease in the number of university applications from India.

Analysis

The F-1 visa is the most popular student visa which allows students to work during their course and provides them with a grace period to search for a job following graduation. In recent years, however, F-1 visas are becoming hard to obtain, and even harder to renew. Amidst trade disputes with China, the Trump administration has expressed its concern about the security threats posed by Chinese students who have access to the latest American technology through research centers at their respective institutions. Trump has been very vocal about his beliefs that Chinese presence in American academia is a result of efforts from the Chinese government to engage in non-traditional espionage. Several prominent Chinese scholars have already been dismissed by their institutions and others have been denied entry into the United States. In response to this, the Chinese Education Ministry issued a warning against applying to study in America. After the U.S. recently withdrew India’s preferential trade benefits due to a trade dispute, the fate of Chinese students in America sets a precedent for similar treatment towards Indian students as well.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed amendments to the way visas are issued and status violations are calculated. In 2018, the DHS announced in a policy memorandum that it gave U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) the power to freely use its discretion to reject visa applications and extension requests without needing to seek clarifications with the applicant. This resulted in an increase in visa rejections. In the old system, students who were in violation of their immigration status had 180 days to leave the country after being notified by the USCIS. Upon failure to do so, students would be banned from re-entry into the U.S for 3-10 years. The new system would allow the USCIS to declare violations of immigration status without needing to inform the student. There are many situations in which the violation of a student’s immigration status can occur unknowingly because of a clerical error or a technical glitch. Under the new laws, the smallest discrepancies can jeopardize the careers of hundreds of thousands of international students studying and working in the U.S.

Assessment 

Our assessment is that education is an influential soft power that can be used to improve diplomatic relationships between nations. Besides this, global collaboration in higher education can lead to large-scale innovation and boost a nation’s economic growth and development. In America, international students account for 5.5% of the total college enrolment and higher international tuition rates mean that international students make a significant financial contribution to American institutions. For every 7 international students, 3 jobs are created in the U.S. In 2018 alone, international students made a $39 billion contribution to the American economy. Of all start-up businesses in America which provide millions of Americans with jobs, 25% were founded by people who came to America as students. We believe these figures suggest that alienating and discouraging international students might not be the best option – for both economic and diplomatic reasons.