We have failed international students

The international education community has failed international students in the United States. It gives me no pleasure to proclaim this, but I only have to look at the past few months to confirm my assertion.

The Trump administration has committed unprecedented attacks on international education. In response, we, the international education community, have been largely silent as international students were deported, banned country lists created, and the USA’s reputation as the pre-eminent, welcoming destination for international students destroyed.

Who knows what further hateful actions lie in store for the next three years? Will we shake off this complacency and defend international students? Will our leadership leave their offices, show some backbone and fight for the values and principles of international education? If the past few months are any indication, I fear not, and I am angry. International students deserve better.

Building a wall around the USA may have sounded like a good idea to Trump supporters, but those in the international education community know better

A recent release from NAFSA indicated that July 2025 witnessed the greatest monthly drop in international student arrivals to the US, with overall arrivals declining 28% year-over-year to just under 79,000. Universities are preparing for a steep 30% decline in new international student enrolment this fall, potentially causing an estimated $2.6 billion in lost tuition revenue.

Building a wall around the USA may have sounded like a good idea to Trump supporters, but those in the international education community know better. If declining international enrolment isn’t disturbing enough to propel us to action, what will it take? Our community and leadership seem paralysed. A few of us have tried to the sound the alarm but few listen.

The question, then, is why? I propose six principal reasons. 

• Misguided optimism

We are where we are because our membership has been told to remain optimistic and that everything will magically work out.

Possibly the most pervasive characteristic of the international education community is our belief in the goodness of humanity and the value of international exchange.

I share this belief, but in our battle with the MAGA agenda, this attribute prevents us from action. Our MAGA opponents do not respect our profession. They oppose international students, mistakenly believing that they all overstay their visas and take jobs from US Americans.

We in the international education community think we can reason with them by providing economic benefits arguments. We can’t.

• Professionalism and respect

I receive maybe five to 10 messages a day saying my social media posts lack professionalism and respect. They tell me that I am doing a disservice to our profession through my criticism and complaints. They call me a whiner and a pessimist.

In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why we are losing the battle to the Trump administration. We expect our opponents to act in the tradition of academic principles, including following certain refined examples of professional behaviour. All the politeness and soaring rhetoric of the nobility of our cause means nothing to MAGA.

• A normal downturn

There is a mistaken belief that that our current situation is just a normal glitch and part of the historical up and down cycle of international student mobility. This is complete nonsense. The past few months are not just an aberration before things return to normal.

The problem, though, is that our membership and leadership equate the Trump administration’s actions as a normal downturn in student mobility. This is a glaring misreading of history. The current situation is entirely self-inflicted by the Trump administration.

By accepting this false narrative, we are unable to identify the real problem facing our profession. There is no urgency because we believe everything will return to normal with or without our engagement.   

• Avoidance of politics

How many times have I heard that I am too political? This criticism is all too pervasive. We are told to not criticise Trump, and if we do, we must also equally criticise the Biden/Harris administration.

Our leadership tells us that neutrality is the best strategy. This has led to ridiculous posts where our colleagues are twisting themselves in knots trying to put blame on everyone back to the Clinton administration – but not on the actual cause of the implosion of international education. The truth is that it is not Biden’s, Harris’ or Obama’s fault. It began on January 20 2025 because of the nativist Trump administration, backed by his MAGA followers.

• Fear of reprisals

The Trump administration has the power and isn’t afraid to use it. This is a disturbing trend in Trump’s America, and unlike anything we have previously seen from past administrations. Trump has, in my opinion. wielded the awesome power of the presidency to harass, threaten, and strike fear into the international education community.

He has waged an attack on our sector from day one. His opposition to DEI, immigration, international students, and free speech has led to suppression and fear. Many universities have succumbed to this pressure.

Hesitancy to express reality because of the fear of political and financial consequences may have suppressed our zeal to resist.

• Lack of leadership

For the past few months, we have witnessed a daily attack on international education. Yet, our leadership has done little more than encourage a misguided optimism about international students. Offering webinars is not leadership. An occasional mass email is not effective. Soaring rhetoric is not resisting. Where is the urgency? Where is the coordinated strategy to fight back?

Unfortunately, our leadership has no idea how to fight a political opponent like the Trump administration. You don’t learn political tactics in university graduate level seminars. This is a war. All the economic benefits and goodness of our cause arguments mean nothing to MAGA. The time for soaring, feel-good rhetoric has passed. It’s time for action.

What we can do

While the rest of the world is going all in with national strategies and rolling out the red carpet for international students, what are we doing?

Saving the international education sector should be the pre-eminent issue of our time and must be priority number one for both members and leadership of the international education community. We must rise to the occasion. Unless we act and shake off our lethargy and complacency, there will be nothing left to save.

Unless the international education community has a strong and united voice that connects individual members, leadership, policymakers, institutions, and industry stakeholders, our impact will remain limited and ineffective

We need a coordinated, comprehensive strategy to combat these daily anti-international education measures – an all-hands-on-deck approach. This is our DEFCON 3 moment. All the international focused organisations should contribute to this strategy.

We should suspend spending on all nonessential activities except advocacy. That means no webinars, no membership drives, and no conferences. We should, like other countries, adopt a national plan supported by every state to combat Trump’s MAGA agenda.

Unless the international education community has a strong and united voice that connects individual members, leadership, policymakers, institutions, and industry stakeholders, our impact will remain limited and ineffective. Only we can stop MAGA through loud, persistent, and principled opposition.

I urge everyone to shake off the misguided optimism that tells you everything will work out. It won’t, unless you get involved. Our house is on fire. Hope won’t fix this. 

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