With $41 billion as revenue from the education economy, Trump can’t ignore it, recalls order to scrap student visas

US President Donald Trump doesn’t want to knowingly hurt the economy. So though he did give in to his nativism by cancelling visas of international students, asking them to leave the country or risk deportation as their universities had switched to online-only courses, he has rescinded that order. Not because he loves academics or intellectuals — with top notch institutions across the US like Harvard and MIT suing the administration for a hair-brained idea — but because the education economy rests largely on foreign students paying their way into the hallowed portals of learning. According to a Washington-based think tank, about 1.2 million students who could have been affected by the visa scrap had signed up at over 8,700 schools in March 2018. And they contribute $41 billion to the economy annually and support more than 4,58,000 jobs. As it is, regular US schools are struggling as some are issuing refunds over closures amid the pandemic while public university systems are seeing State funding dwindle. It is no wonder then that there was an avalanche of opposition to the move. And once Brand USA as a higher education destination takes a hit, it would be difficult to get back aspirational students, who would be looking to Europe and Asia had they suffered the ordeal of leaving mid-course.

The decision was probably politically motivated to reduce the immigrant pie in the job market. Or it could be Trump’s manner of forcing institutions to consider the risky proposition of opening up, both of which hold no water. While he may want to scream “American jobs for Americans first,” there may not be many skilled enough in the first place. It would jeopardise the ability of American firms to hire highly-skilled workers educated in the US, who lead in innovation given that they are the best brains from around the world. Can the US disregard meritocracy or deny that a higher degree of talent among immigrants has made some of them head giant corporations? Little wonder then that more than a dozen technology companies, including majors like Google, Facebook and Twitter, came out in support of the lawsuit, arguing that the policy would harm their businesses. Even 15 Republican members of Congress signed a letter urging the Government to reconsider, forcing the usually combative Trump administration to make a rare and swift immigration policy reversal. In fact, the issue of foreign visas was raised by India, too, last week at the virtual Foreign Office Consultations led by Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla and US Under Secretary of State David Hale. There are at least 2,00,000 Indian students in the US, who make up over 18 per cent of international admissions and are the second highest immigrant learner population in that nation. The latest policy was also an attempt by the Government to force global students to study on campus in order to advance the Trump administration’s agenda to force universities to reopen their gates with in-person classes. This at a time when universities around the world are grappling with whether to reopen campuses during the contagion. Now, with this new ruling, the schools, colleges and universities can go about their business of planning the next semester. However, they have warned the Government that they will be prepared to go back to court if it again tries to restrict the ability of international students to study online when needed. But all is not hunky dory as yet. It is unclear whether new F-1 visas will be issued to those not yet enrolled in educational programmes. And even if the law permits a new F-1 visa, the fact remains that US consulates and embassies around the world may not be able to cater to demand due to staffing shortages as routine visa services were suspended in March. Student visas for the US have always been complex and strict and any mid-term disorientation would mean that a reissue or a renewal when the public health situation improves would be another hassle and result in a time lag. But hopefully, the Trump administration will have learnt its lesson and stay away from counter-productive policies on human resources.