Several major universities have warned their international students who went to their home countries for winter break to return to the U.S. before President-elect Donald Trump regains office in January.
At least 10 universities, including the University of Southern California (USC), Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have urged their international students to be back stateside before January 20, Axios reported.
In an email obtained by the outlet sent to pupils on student visas, USC officials said that being back in the U.S. when the semester begins on January 13 “is especially important given that a new presidential administration will take office on January 20, 2025, and — as is common — may issue one or more Executive Orders impacting travel to the U.S. and visa processing.”
“While there’s no certainty such orders will be issued, the safest way to avoid any challenges is to be physically present in the U.S. before the Spring semester,” USC officials added.
Harvard and Cornell universities also sent warning emails to international students, the New York Times reported.
An email from Arizona State University’s International Students and Scholars Center, obtained by ABC15’s Rachel Louise Just, revealed a similar message:
“We are making this advisory out of an abundance of caution to hopefully prevent any possible travel disruption,” the email reads.
Spencer Lindquist of the Daily Wire revealed that Claremont McKenna College, a small liberal arts school in California, even offered to get students without “legal status” free consultations with immigration lawyers ahead of Inauguration Day:
During a campaign rally earlier this year, Trump said he would “immediately deport” foreign students who participate in “jihadism, or anti-Americanism or antisemitism” after anti-Israel protests took over multiple U.S. campuses:
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