Undocumented and international students worry about their fate in second Trump term

Ana, a University of Minnesota student who is undocumented, said it’s hard to talk about her anxiety as President-elect Donald Trump returns to office. She’s afraid of losing everything she’s achieved in the United States.

“Personally, I feel very scared about this new president,” said Ana, who only agreed to be interviewed using her nickname because of safety concerns. “We don’t know what will happen with us, especially all the undocumented students that don’t have any protections.”

Across Minnesota and the nation, some international and undocumented college students are worried about what the second Trump administration will bring: Will the ability to travel to their home countries be affected? Will immigration policies change? Will threatened mass deportations be carried out?

Some U.S. universities even warned international students to return to campus in January before Trump’s inauguration on Monday.

Some of the fear relates to the unknown, students and university officials said. But other concerns arise from specific, sometimes contradictory comments Trump has made about such topics as visas and immigration. Many people also mentioned policies and proposals — like the ban on travel and resettlement of refugee from some Muslim countries — made during his previous term.

“We’ve heard a lot of things from the incoming administration about how they’re going to handle undocumented students and international students more broadly ... though we don’t know what to expect,” said Todd Wolfson, a professor at Rutgers University and president of the American Association of University Professors.

“We think it’s very important to hold the sanctity of our campuses and to protect students no matter what.”

In 2023-24, the number of international students in the U.S. climbed 7% to a record 1.1 million, according to the International Educational Exchange’s Open Doors report. About 15,000, a 5% increase, studied in Minnesota during the previous academic year.

It’s hard to estimate the number of undocumented students because colleges don’t maintain lists, but the Minnesota Office of Higher Education said 506 received the Minnesota State Grant in 2024 after filling out the Minnesota Dream Act application.

Amid the apprehension, some students said they remained optimistic because of other statements by Trump that suggest support for international students. For instance, a recent debate over visas for skilled foreign workers cooled when the president-elect said he favored the H-1B program — despite previously saying it was unfair.

That exchange “gave us a little bit of hope,” said Nancy Basnet, a Nepali student working on a doctorate at St. Cloud State University.

In New Jersey, Wolfson said the Rutgers faculty wasn’t “sitting still,” but was researching and preparing to help both undocumented and international students.

A faculty union has set up an international worker committee to support students, answer questions and provide legal support, Wolfson said. Another community group will focus on how to help undocumented students in the event of immigration raids. Trump has said he will organize the nation’s largest mass deportation.

Few Minnesota schools responded to questions from the Minnesota Star Tribune on this issue. Juventino Meza, a civil rights lawyer and community leader, said he’s provided training to 14 Minnesota colleges in the past four months on how to talk with students and high school counselors about financial aid for the undocumented and to protect students’ data privacy.

Many undocumented students are anxious about what will happen to certain policies and programs under Trump, especially Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a federal program that protects undocumented people who entered the country as children from deportation and allows them to work temporarily for two-year periods, Meza said. Trump’s attempts to end the program during his first term were blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Students are also concerned that information they provide on DACA forms might be used by the government to track down undocumented family members, Meza said.

He also said he worries that, in an attempt to protect students and their data, high school counselors will tell them not to apply for the Minnesota Dream Act, which provides in-state tuition rates and state financial aid to qualifying students. Meza said “really strong privacy protections” are in place at state and federal levels.

He said he’s also heard some college administrators fear that fewer undocumented students will enroll in coming years because they won’t feel safe.

Vivian Sieger, youth programs coordinator for the local nonprofit Communities Organizing Latine Power and Action (COPAL), said there’s definitely “a lot of fear happening right now.”

“It’s kind of impossible to ignore the rise in hatred against immigrant communities and I think that really translates to students not feeling safe,” she said. “We’re very much on the defensive — preparing for the worst, hoping for the best.”

Sieger said students with at least one undocumented parent are nervous about filling of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASA) because of fears that their information will be shared with other agencies.

Undocumented and international students alike ultimately fear being forced to leave the country after Trump takes office, she said.

During part of Trump’s first term, enrollment of new international students declined by almost 12% from fall 2016 through fall 2019, according to Open Doors data.

In Minnesota, international student numbers fell by 21% at Minnesota State institutions from fiscal year 2017 to 2021, but those years also overlapped the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

International students have a large economic impact on Minnesota and the nation, as well as make considerable contributions to U.S. university classrooms, said Rachel Banks, senior director for public policy and legislative policy at NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

“It’s so valuable for American students to have that exposure to different cultures and perspectives,” she said.

Banks noted Trump’s recent support for H-1B visa and his suggestions that all foreign graduates of U.S. universities should get green cards.

In St. Paul, Macalester College, a private college known for its international student body, welcomed a record 321 undergraduates from foreign countries this academic year, said Kathryn Kay Coquemont, vice president for student affairs.

The school sends emails at least every week to international students with reminders about everything from domestic travel to taxes, she said, adding that people don’t realize that being an international student is already complicated. She said administrators remain concerned about rising xenophobia or Islamophobia.

“We know that aside from any immediate changes, whether it’s in politics or culture things, there’s kind of this ongoing pressure put on those students,” Coquemont said.

International students “are sort of in this political football,” said Basnet, the St. Cloud State student, but shouldn’t be, because they bring “so much value.”

She said she knows several students who have canceled trips home recently for fear of complications when they try to return. Others haven’t been home in five or six years, she said.

“On top of your head, there’s this sword hanging, like, would I be able to come back to the country or not?” Basnet said.

She said the apprehension is worse among students from Muslim countries.

If there are immigration raids, Basnet said, she worries that federal officials won’t differentiate between undocumented and international students. She plans to keep a photo of her I-20 form, an important document for international students, on her phone just in case.

“It’s good to be prepared,” Basnet said. “There’s hope but there’s also the fear and the nervousness that comes with political change.”