These sweeping actions have left international students uncertain about their academic plans and post-graduation prospects

By Titilope Adako

The Trump administration’s growing hostility towards foreign students and elite universities like Harvard and Columbia is fuelling anxiety across campuses, including the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), where many international students are reconsidering their future in the US.

Since returning to office in 2025, President Donald Trump has revoked hundreds of student visas, suspended new visa appointments, cut funding for science and research programmes, and targeted students involved in pro-Palestine activism.

These sweeping actions have left international students uncertain about their academic plans and post-graduation prospects.

“The overall mood across the room [among international students] is that people are looking for other options,” said Denis Lomov, a 26-year-old Russian PhD student at UCSB.

“It’s the unpredictability of these policies that makes me fear about the future.”

Trump’s legal battles with institutions like Harvard and Columbia have added to the uncertainty.

A judge recently dismissed Columbia’s lawsuit challenging federal funding cuts, while another court temporarily blocked Trump’s attempt to deny entry to Harvard’s international students.

Trump has also threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status and freeze billions in research grants.

Universities in the UC system have advised international students to avoid international travel due to visa risks.

“People are considering whether they’ll be able to go home and visit their families during their programme,” said Anam Mehta, a UCSB PhD student.

She added that many students are now cautious about what they post online for fear of being questioned at the airport.

Administrators are also struggling to keep pace with rapidly changing policies.

Carola Smith of Santa Barbara City College said she receives constant enquiries from prospective international students uncertain about their ability to study in the US.

She warned that foreign enrolment could drop by as much as 50 percent in the coming year due to suspended visa appointments.

Beyond immediate academic hurdles, many students are questioning whether the US still values foreign scholars.

Trump has criticised institutions like Harvard for having a high proportion of foreign students, saying, “We want to know where those students come from. Are they troublemakers?”

Jeffrey Rosario, an assistant professor at Loma Linda University, said the administration’s approach reflects a broader economic nationalism.

“They’re arguing that they don’t need international students, that this is talent they should be cultivating here at home.”

“For Lomov, who left Russia seeking academic freedom and opportunity, the hostile environment in the US is disheartening.

“That’s why I left for the United States, because I knew the United States provides amazing opportunities for academics and research,” he said.

“But now it feels like maybe I’m back in the same place, where I have to leave again.”

Aljazeera

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