In a major U-turn on his immigration agenda, US President Donald Trump has advocated for allowing foreign students to study in American universities. The American leader said foreign students are “good” for business practice and keep the country’s higher education system financially strong.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump pushed back on the MAGA (Make America Great Again) agenda and argued that a sharp reduction in students from China and other countries could put half the US colleges out of business.
“You don’t want to cut half of the people, half of the students from all over the world that are coming into our country — destroy our entire university and college system — I don’t want to do that,” Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham.
“I actually think it’s good to have outside countries. Look, I want to be able to get along with the world,” he added.
When pushed to explain why he wouldn’t reduce the number of students from foreign countries — in particular China– Trump argued that doing so would cause financial harm to the American higher education system and lead some schools, including historically Black institutions, to go “out of business”.
“We do have a lot of people coming in from China, we always have China and other countries. We also have a massive system of colleges and universities. And if we were to cut that in half, which perhaps makes some people happy, you would have half the colleges in the United States go out of business,” Trump said.
“We take in trillions of dollars from students. You know, the students pay more than double when they come in from most foreign countries. I want to see our school system thrive… It’s not that I want them, but I view it as a business.”
Trump’s Crackdown On Foreign Students
Trump’s latest remarks were in clear contrast with his second administration’s immigration policies, which have particularly targeted international students. Since coming to power in January, the Trump administration has revoked thousands of visas, arrested students who were involved in pro-Palestinian activities and imposed heightened application requirements.
Team Trump has also targeted some of America’s top institutions, including Harvard and Stanford, over their handling of international student applicants and compliance with visa regulations.
Harvard University challenged the Trump administration’s attempt to block the school from admitting foreign students, following which a US court blocked the administration from enforcing the ban, but the US is appealing that decision.
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also ordered US embassies worldwide to stop scheduling interviews for student visas, with the administration later resuming them but with more strict vetting of applicants’ social-media profiles.
