International students, including those from Nigeria, are being cautioned by US universities that executive orders on immigration may have an impact on their status in the country as US President-elect Donald Trump gets ready to return to the White House.
“During the first four years of the Trump administration, a travel ban was imposed that impacted multiple countries, and resulted in many/some international students encountering difficulties re-entering the US to resume classes,” the University of California-Berkeley recently posted on its International website.
“Whether such policies will be implemented again and/or blocked by the courts or via other means is unclear. Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending a return to the United States prior to January 20.”
Students were also warned by Cornell University’s Office of Global Learning that a travel ban “is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration.”
“The ban is likely to include citizens of the countries targeted in the first Trump administration: Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar, Sudan, Tanzania, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen and Somalia,” a statement from the office said, adding that students, faculty and staff from these countries should be back in the US before the term begins on January 21.
A warning was also issued by Columbia University, the epicenter of the pro-Palestine demonstrations that swept through American colleges and universities in the spring.
“As we do with administrative changes at all levels of government, Columbia is gathering relevant information on the incoming administration,” university spokeswoman Samantha Slater said in an email to the Columbia Spectator.
To prevent any possible travel delays, international students are encouraged to return to Columbia’s campus prior to the start of this semester. Trump implemented a Muslim ban during his first term in office, preventing entry into the US for nationals of certain nations with a majority of Muslims.
He also pledged to cancel the visas of “radical anti-American and anti-Semitic foreigners” enrolled in US institutions during demonstrations against the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Some overseas students are worried about this and the Republican Party’s increasing anti-immigrant rhetoric. However, the main goal of Mr. Trump’s immigration program has been to prevent illegal immigration.
International students “should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he stated in a June interview with The All-In Podcast.
