Unfortunately, most of the Democratic party is too chicken to actually play hardball. They’ll wimp out just like they did last time, and we’ll be right back where we started.
U.S. Restores Legal Status for Many International Students, but Warns of Removals to Come https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/us/politics/trump-student-visa-cancellations.html?smid=nytcore-android-share
But it’s not actually good news. It’s just evidence of gross incompetence and confusion, as best as i can tell. I think the goal is to scare away students without creating legal evidence that can be used to prosecute anyone on the administration.
All of this confusion is definitely discouraging international students, which seems like a stupid thing to do. We want international students to come to America. They (or their country) pay tuition and other expenses, for one thing.
If your intention is to benefit America, yes, it’s stupid. If your intention is to punish your enemies, and you perceive both foreigners and universities as your enemies, it’s a two-fer.
If your goal is to weaken the US, it’s an excellent move.
On the other hand, look at how Trump is attacking universities. He’d probably be thrilled to take down the Ivy League, or at least greatly diminish their prominence. Scaring away full-load-paying students is a step toward that.
Yes. Yes, Trump would.
You can pretty much depend on him to do whatever is stupid, spiteful, impulsive, vengeful, self-defeating, ill-considered and/or not in the national interest.
2-year old baby, US citizen, deported to Honduras without her dad and no due process:
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/25/us-citizen-deportation-donald-trump-00311631
If you can’t see that this supposed two years old is MS-13 and a terrorist I can’t help you.
/bittercynicalsarcasm
Washington Post agrees:
“Trump is deliberately destroying America’s scientific edge”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/04/25/us-losing-competitive-edge-science/
(I was able to read this article earlier this morning, but now it’s paywalled.)
Thanks!
In the case of the other family, a U.S. citizen child suffering from a rare form of metastatic cancer was deported without medication or the ability to consult with their treating physicians–despite ICE being notified in advance of the child’s urgent medical needs.
Shocking!
Education is one of the US’s largest exports. Yes, it counts as an export even when the students are educated here. It’s almost equal to our auto exports.
https://thehill.com/opinion/education/5267656-united-states-education-export/
Anecdotally, I’m thinking of the state college that my niece attended. Just under 10% of the students are from other countries. Legally, the freshman class has to be composed of at least 80% in-state students, who pay highly reduced tuition.
So about half of their full payers come from other countries.
Even more anecdotally, at her graduation I noticed that certain majors and study programs had heavy concentrations of foreign students……some of the construction adjacent engineering programs were dominated by students from Middke Easterm countries.
It’s going to be a huge financial hit to universities, although I suspect that’s the point.
Here’s a gift link to Fareed Zakaria’s Washington Post column all about how in one hundred days, Trump is dismantling the advantage in science and research built by the US over the past one hundred years.
- (almost certain) On the last day whoever’s in office before the switchover will blanket-pardon anyone over anything whatsoever.
- (less likely but possible, alas) SCOTUS majority will rule that everyone had inmunity for everything.
- (for damned sure) If either of the Houses is still GOP-majority they THEN will reinstate the “Committee Against Weaponization of Government” to denounce and investigate any move against anyone
- (for damned sure) Republicans and a whole pile of “moderates” will loudly cry out for “reconciliation” and “unity”
- The Law-Enforcement community unions will choose to “stand with their brothers” at CBP and ICE rather than with the Constitution and Law they swore to defend and the People they committed to “serve and protect”.
- Democrat-Administration DOJ and state AGs will rightly want to cross every possible t and dot every possible i, but in the process they will once again let the suspects just drag it out (and in some cases like Georgia carelessly step on their own d**ks causing their own set of delays) and raise it to a friendlier court, until things again change in their favor.
I only wish I could expect to be wrong on most…
Also to employment. I don’t know what the current multiplier is, but in my time in university admin, it was something £25k income created one new job. And correspondingly, a loss of $n will mean a loss of jobs, particularly in support functions - libraries, catering, cleaning, security, building maintenance.
Not to mention the commercial/industrial spin-off from research.
Add in an unprecedented boost to China worldwide politically and economically, and kneecapping US support internationally… I’m not sure I can take all this winning! 
What do you mean? Chuck Schumer sent Trump a very strong letter with eight very strong questions.
Here, he says so himself.
(Lest anyone think I was joking.)