Trump’s return: what’s next for international students?
February 11, 2025
Public Domain: Official White House Photo of President Donald J. Trump by Shealah Craighead
Maleeha Morey explores the uncertain future of US education under Trump
The 2024 US presidential election was a moment of profound change. The first convicted felon was to occupy the White House. For many, the morning of November 6th was a bleak one in the UK. There was a widespread sense of empathy, compassion, and growing fear for those in the US who felt directly persecuted by Trump’s campaign and subsequent victory.
I felt a sense of unease as I watched the events unfold. As a UK student with hopes to one day pursue post-graduate education in the US, the potential impact of Trump’s policies was impossible to ignore.
In recent years, there has been a noticeable worldwide political shift towards extremism, seen in the success of Reform UK in the 2024 general election, the rise of the Alternative for Germany party (AfD), and, subsequently the victory of Trump in the US.
There is no doubt that the presidency of Trump will be a period of enormous change.
During his first term, Trump proposed eliminating a program that offers student loan forgiveness to public sector workers after 10 years. According to Politico, his administration also attempted unsuccessfully to restrict debt relief for borrowers who were misled by their colleges. In his new presidency, Trump has created a Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk and it looks likely that he will attempt to, at the very least, introduce cuts to the budget of the Department of Education. It’s clear that US university students are unlikely to receive the same financial assistance they did under Biden.
These actions reflect the broader agenda of the Trump administration to cut public sector funding with little relief provided for university students. Despite running a populist campaign, Trump’s four-year presidency may push the US democratic system toward an oligarchy.
Trump’s education proposals may seem threatening, but his inconsistent track record offers hope for students
The concept of oligarchy (meaning a small group of people who have control of a country or organisation) was emphasised by Bernie Sanders during the 2024 election. As reported by The Guardian, Sanders pointed to the actions and growing political influence of ‘President Elon Musk’ as evidence of ‘oligarchy at work’.
Trump’s first term also saw efforts to make substantial changes to the structure of federal education. As reported by CNN, during this time, his administration unsuccessfully attempted to merge the Department of Education with the Department of Labor. Despite these setbacks, Trump’s influence remained strong, particularly with Republicans gaining majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
Politifact reveals that Trump has proposed revoking the student visas of foreigners he deems to be “radical anti-American and antisemitic” at US colleges and universities. On January 21st, he signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship, which suggests that the general idea of revoking student visas is more aligned with his intolerant position on immigration. This idea is reinforced by the vague criteria for determining a ‘radical anti-American and antisemitic’ foreign student, weakening the proposal and highlighting why it would be difficult to implement.
Unpredictably, Trump’s plan also includes providing green cards to college graduates, even those from junior colleges, to allow them to stay legally in the US after graduation. This is a somewhat surprising proposal from him, given his strong anti-immigration stance. This conflict of ideas exposes the hypocritical nature of many of Trump’s policies with Politifact statistics revealing that 53% of his election promises were broken during his first term.
Given this track record, it is unlikely that he will successfully implement the majority of his proposals regarding education and student finance. It gives me some hope that I may be able to follow my dreams of studying in the US in the future.
