Several U.S. colleges and universities are urging international students to return to the U.S. ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, reported the Hill.
Cornell University told its students that a travel ban involving the 13 nations Trump previously targeted “is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration,” and that new countries could be added to the list, particularly China and India. It advised students, faculty and staff from those countries to return to campus before the semester starts Jan. 21.
“The immigration landscape is likely to change under the new presidential administration,” it said.
Wesleyan University told students, “The safest way to avoid difficulty re-entering the country is to be physically present in the US on January 19th and the days thereafter of the spring semester.
Harvard University issued similar advice: “Since our last message earlier in November, many of you have asked questions about potential changes to immigration policies. Our recurring advice to those who share concerns about situations that would disrupt or delay your return from break is to budget time ahead of the semester start, prior to the January Martin Luther King holiday.”
More than 1.1 million international students were enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities during the 2023-24 school year, according to Open Doors, a data project partially funded by the U.S. State Department. Students from India and China have accounted for more than half of all international students in the U.S., and about 43,800 come from the 15 countries affected by Trump’s travel restrictions.
Trump issued an executive order in January 2017 banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries — Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. Travelers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights or detained at U.S. airports after they landed.
They included students and faculty as well as business people, tourists and visitors to friends and family.
Trump later removed some countries and added others to the list — 15 nations were affected at some point during his presidency. More than 40,000 people were ultimately refused visas because of the ban, according to the U.S. State Department. President Joe Biden rescinded the orders when he took office in 2021.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Related:
1169571
1192321
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.