Maryland colleges ask international students to return before Trump’s inauguration

In the midst of taking final exams and writing term papers, international students at Maryland colleges have one extra item on their agendas: Making sure they can get back into the country for the spring semester.

Several Maryland colleges joined the likes of Harvard University, the University of Southern California and Cornell University, and have sent out travel advisories to their international students, encouraging them to return to the United States before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

Earlier this year, Trump said he would reinstate the travel ban he enacted in 2017 that barred people from a number of predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. His 2017 ban was enacted right after his inauguration, stranding more than 17,000 students from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

“It creates a tremendous personal hardship for international students and their families,” Steven David, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University who studies international relations, said of a potential travel ban. “It really makes these young people on edge, needlessly.”

The Office of International Students at Johns Hopkins wrote that it “does not have any specific information about upcoming changes in federal travel policies,” but warned students that “changes could occur on or around January 20th.”

Fifteen percent of Johns Hopkins’ undergraduate students are from other countries, and when you include graduate programs, international students make up 27.5% of the total university student body.

“If you cannot afford an interruption in your studies, research or teaching due to an indefinite period abroad, you may want to arrange your travel plans — especially if travel is nonessential — to return to the U.S. no later than January 19, 2025,” an advisory from the office reads.

At the University of Maryland, whose student body includes almost 5,000 international students, or nearly 12% of total students, Associate Vice President for International Affairs Ross Lewin strongly encouraged international students to return to the country “on or before” Jan. 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration.

While Johns Hopkins and UMD don’t directly mention Trump as a reason for the extra caution, other schools are more direct.

St. John’s College wrote to students about “special considerations given the U.S. presidential transition,” to keep in mind.

“Out of an abundance of caution, it is recommended that you make efforts to be back in the United State before January 20, 2025,” the college’s email to students reads. “It is currently unknown if there will be any Executive Orders issued that could impact travel and visa processing on or after that date.”

David, the political scientist at Johns Hopkins, said that the potential travel ban could mean that colleges see a sharp decrease in international student enrollment. That could be particularly hard on a school like St. John’s College, where 20% of students are from outside the U.S.

“Instead, they’ll go to Britain or Canada or Australia or some other place, and America will be hurt by that,” he said. “I mean, it’s not just the financial hit the colleges will take, but these students add a tremendous new perspective on international relations and other issues.”

David, who teaches many international students, said he was trying his best to support them on an “emotional basis,” but added he “wasn’t under the illusion that it’s going to make much of an impact.”

“Elections have consequences, and this is one of, I think, many of the consequences we’re going to be feeling,” he said.

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