International Students Urged by USC to Return to Campus Before Trump Inauguration
- Lucia Laski
- Dec 11, 2024
- 3 min read
The University of Southern California has urgently advised international students on J-1 and F-1 visas to return to the U.S. before the start of the spring semester on January 13th, 2025, warning of potential travel bans likely to go into effect with the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
The University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
In an email to their international students, who make up 26.6% of the student body, according to USC data, the USC Office of International Services stated that “a new presidential administration will take office on January 20, 2025, and – as is common – may issue one or more Executive Orders impacting travel to the U.S. and visa processing”. The advisory continued, “While there’s no certainty such orders will be issued, the safest way to avoid any challenges is to be physically present in the U.S. before the Spring semester begins on January 13, 2025.”
Concerns over changing immigration policies and travel bans arise as President-elect Donald Trump and members of his administration have indicated that mass deportations would go into effect soon after he is inaugurated. While the impact of Trump’s second administration on international students is unclear, the President-elect’s first administration brought about numerous restrictions on immigration, such as his 2017 Muslim travel ban, restricting travel to the United States for the predominantly Muslim countries like Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen–and suspending the resettlement of all Syrian refugees.
Demonstrators march down Pennsylvania Avenue during a protest on January 29, 2017, in Washington, DC. Protesters in Washington and around the country gathered to protest President Donald Trump's executive order barring the citizens of Muslim-majority countries Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from traveling to the United States.
USC houses the largest international student population among California universities, and the fifth largest in the United States, according to USC data. One USC senior, Kevin Lu, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about how he was excited to visit his parents over winter break in Shenzhen, China, but ultimately decided against it claiming that it was “too risky,” saying that Trump’s stance on China and previous restrictions on Chinese student visas during his first term factored into his uncertainty.
Trump has said that he will expand his travel ban that President Biden rescinded in 2021, including “Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Yemen or Libya or anywhere else that threatens our security,” during a 2023 rally. At this same event, he added that in his second term, he will, “expand each and every one of those bans”.
USC is among many colleges and universities to have recently issued statements about the future of immigration policies and how they will affect international students, being
joined by schools such as Wesleyan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Yale University, among others. All have urged students to return before Inauguration Day, January 20th.
Sources:
Drenon, Brandon. “US Colleges Warn Foreign Students over Trump Immigration Crackdown.” BBC, 26 Nov. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxvz4re5y1o.
Jeong, Helen. “USC’s International Students Urged to Return to U.S. Before Trump Takes Office.” NBC Los Angeles, NBC Southern California, 4 Dec. 2024, www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/uscs-international-students-trump-immigratio n-foreign-visas/3574520/. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
Kaleem, Jaweed. ““You Don’t Know What’s Next.” International Students Scramble ahead of Trump Inauguration.” Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024, www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-12-09/la-me-international-students-trump.
Ll, Melody. “International Students Worry about What Future Immigration Policies Could Mean for Them.” Annenberg Media, 5 Dec. 2024,
www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2024/12/04/international-students-worry-about-wh at-future-immigration-policies-could-mean-for-them/. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
Tabet, Alex, et al. “Trump Vows to Expand His Travel Ban to Gaza.” NBC News, 17 Oct. 2023,
Comments