Banning foreign students from American universities will damage US-Asian relations in the long term

The president is willing to harm American universities’ gold standard reputations if it means he has a better chance of re-election, writes Adam Withnall

Shortly after the ICE announcement, Trump tweeted: ‘SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!’ (AP)

The Trump administration’s announcement that foreign students will not be able to stay on into the autumn term if their classes remain online will have far-reaching implications for US foreign relations.

American universities welcome more than a million international students every year, and almost two-thirds of those come from just three major Asian economies – China, India and South Korea.

China’s state-run Global Times newspaper branded it a “xenophobic” move that would only “harm higher education” in the US. China sent more than 360,000 students to American universities in 2019.

India was expected to protest against the decision in diplomatic talks on Tuesday between its foreign office and David Hale, the US undersecretary of state for political affairs. The “unacceptable” move could hurt up to 200,000 Indian students and “adversely impact the US’s image as a credible destination for higher studies”, an Indian official told local media.

Based on the reaction here in Delhi on Tuesday, the decision – coming so soon after the US withdrew H1B visas, many of which are taken up by Indian nationals – has wiped out much of the goodwill Donald Trump earnt by visiting for the opening of the world’s biggest cricket stadium in February.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency did not explain the reasoning behind the move, which is effectively a resumption of the normal rules requiring foreign students to have mostly face-to-face tuition.

It said that as universities planned to reopen for the 2020-21 academic year following the coronavirus pandemic, there was “a concordant need to resume … protections” against abuse of student visas.

But the president’s motivation for the decision seems clear. With an election looming in November, he wants the optics of bustling university campuses from September to support his administration’s claim to be “leading” in the fight against Covid-19. Shortly after the ICE announcement, he tweeted: “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!”

There’s no doubt the threat of losing foreign students will be an effective financial motivator for college deans. According to the Institute of International Education, they contributed $44.7bn (£35.5bn) to the US economy in 2018. Harvard and Columbia, two of the choicest destinations for prospective international students, have already said they are adapting their plans for the autumn accordingly.

In the short term, the White House may get what it wants before the ballot boxes open – Trump may even go on to win re-election, though right now he trails Joe Biden in opinion polling. The long-term damage to America’s international reputation, however, could take many years to repair.

Yours,

Adam Withnall

Asia editor