In early November, Trump confirmed his plans to declare a national emergency on border security and use US military to carry out mass deportations.
Amid concerns over Donald Trump’s immigration and mass deportation plans, international students and staff have been advised by US universities to return to campus before the President-elect’s inauguration in January, BBC reported.
Professor Chloe East of the University of Colorado, Denver, was quoted as saying, “All international students are worried right now.”
Earlier this month, the Republican president-elect confirmed that he had plans to declare a national emergency on border security and use the US military to carry out a mass deportation of undocumented migrants in America.
s immigration was one of the top issues in the US presidential election campaign, where Trump promised to deport millions and stabilize the Mexico border after a record number of people are believed to have illegally migrated to the States during outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration.
Over 400,000 undocumented students are enrolled in the US higher education, BBC reported citing the Higher Ed Immigration Portal.
Officials from Trump’s incoming administration have indicated that vast holding facilities will be built for undocumented immigrants on the mass deportation list.
The President-elect’s “border czar” Tom Homan had also announced that the Trump administration would focus on increasing workplace raids as part of its immigration enforcement strategy.
Homan also suggested that only foreign nationals with existing deportation orders would be targeted. The “border czar” highlighted that immigrants with such orders “became a fugitive”.
As a result of uncertainty around immigration, students are highly overwhelmed and stressed out right now, Prof East told BBC, adding, “A lot of students have concerns about their visas and whether they’ll be allowed to continue their education.”