By targeting foreign students, Trump is jeopardizing a major US asset
The contribution of foreign students to the United States is considerable, reports The Wall Street Journal. The Trump administration is unconcerned: in its eyes, these foreign students are replacing Americans, and the aim is now to limit their numbers.
When Ajay Bhatt left India to pursue a master's degree at the City University of New York in 1981, he had never flown before. More than 40 years later, billions of people use his most famous invention, the USB connector. And he has filed more than 130 patents.
“My father wasn't thrilled about me going to the United States. But it was the country where you could get the best education, and everyone was very welcoming.”
Highly skilled immigration has long been a key ingredient in the United States' secret recipe for having the world's most dynamic economy. These newcomers provide an enormous boost in innovation and entrepreneurship.
From 1990 to 2016, they were responsible for 23% of patents, according to a 2022 study by Shai Bernstein of Harvard Business School and four co-authors. They founded, alone or with others, more than half of startups with a valuation above $1 billion, according to another study. Foreigners also played a significant role in the launches of Nvidia, Alphabet, and Tesla.
From Elon Musk to lesser-known figures like Ajay Bhatt, many of these inventors and entrepreneurs arrived in the United States on student visas. But Trump's measures risk drying up this pool of new talent.
In May, the Trump administration froze the files of student visa applicants [on Wednesday, June 18, the State Department announced that it would resume reviewing these student visa applications, subject to a review of applicants' social media activity to ensure they do not criticize the United States].
He also wants to begin "softly canceling" visas for Chinese students at American universities. The government has also tried to prevent Harvard University from accepting foreign students, a move that has so far been thwarted by a federal judge.
[On June 4], the Trump administration banned citizens of a dozen countries from entering the U.S., and barred citizens from countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Laos from applying for student visas. The president also issued an executive order banning foreign students from enrolling at Harvard [an order that was in turn suspended by the same federal judge].
“There are young people who want to go to Harvard or other universities,” Trump said last month. “They can’t because of too many foreign students. So I want to make sure that foreign students are people who love our country.”
The United States welcomed more than 1.1 million international students in the 2023-2024 academic year, according to the Institute of International Studies. In 2024, the government approved the application of
The Wall Street Journal (New York)It's the bible of the business world. But it must be handled with caution: on the one hand, high-quality investigations and reports, with a concern for neutrality. On the other, highly partisan editorial pages. The columnists and the editorial board defend, often virulently, conservative points of view, even if the publication has always maintained a certain distance from Donald Trump.
Winner of 39 Pulitzer Prizes, The WSJ is best known for its financial market analysis and its coverage of management and business trends. Since its acquisition in July 2007 by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., the daily has evolved into a more general format to rival The New York Times. A luxury lifestyle supplement, called WSJ Magazine, was launched in September 2008.
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