Following President Donald Trump’s re-election in November, many U.S. colleges and universities advised international students to return to campus before his inauguration. Since Trump took office, he has begun to execute his promise to enact the largest deportation mission in U.S. history. Having seen how the government barred asylum, moved to end birthright citizenship and declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, international students have expressed concern about the issues they may face re-entering the country to continue their studies and pursue careers after graduating.
On Feb. 21, 2025, Middlebury’s International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) sent a travel update to the college’s international student community, mentioning that the office was continuing to attentively monitor immigration-related regulations and policies while noting that regulations related to international students in the U.S. have not changed yet.
Despite their reassurances, the email addressed recent news stories concerning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and Trump’s executive order, “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.”
Stating that the U.S. government has raised its activity around verifying immigration statuses, the office instructed foreign nationals — which includes both non-U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents — to carry government-issued evidence of their immigration status along with their personal identification and immigration or travel documents.
The office also included a warning for international students regarding their right to protest.
“Based on our understanding of the executive order, it is important for individuals who are part of the international community to know that protesting for causes that are considered to “harm the security, economic, political, cultural or other national interests of the United States” or that are viewed as “anti-Semitic” may have implications on their immigration status and ability to remain in the United States,” the ISSS update stated.
The office further clarified that it did not have control over what activity the federal government designated as a violation of its new policy on protesting.
These policies targeting international students align with those of the previous Trump administration, which limited student visas by enforcing stricter visa terms and more rigorous vetting of OPT and H-1B student employment programs.
Concern over international student’s status has emerged from Trump’s repeated statements about combating antisemitic harassment and violence by canceling the student visas of people he has called “Hamas sympathizers” on college campuses. International students have said that Trump’s actions have made them reconsider their participation in activism on their college campuses.
One student who requested to remain anonymous said they have engaged with the college Board of Trustees as a representative of Middlebury Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) in its recent divestment campaign. The student shared their concerns of political retaliation for their activism.
“Going forward, I don’t think I will feel comfortable representing the student organizers for SJP in front of the Board of Trustees because my name will potentially be on those records… Even though it is unlikely that the Trump Administration will pursue actions against SJP, if they do, the college may be obliged to disclose those records,” they said.
While they emphasized that they believed their citizenship in a Western country lessened the likelihood of political retribution, they are particularly concerned about the potential for the administration to utilize records to achieve retribution against specific individuals.
Beyond fears of political retaliation within the U.S., international students also shared concerns about being unable to exit and re-enter the country easily. An international student from a Middle Eastern country who asked to remain anonymous was unable to return home during their first year and a half at Middlebury.
“Coming from one of the few countries where the U.S. doesn’t grant the standard four-year F-1 visa, I’m issued a one-year visa at a time. This makes traveling home difficult because it requires careful planning, visa appointment scheduling, and a lot of uncertainty about whether I’d be allowed to return,” they wrote in an email to The Campus.
When asked about their ability to engage in activities or programs that other American students could do without concern, the student said that being an international student undoubtedly comes with limitations.
“I wasn’t able to study abroad because it would’ve complicated my visa situation. Freedom of expression is also more limited, as any opinions or actions we take could potentially fall under subjective rules that might jeopardize our status in the U.S., especially given the zero-tolerance policy that the government has towards international students,” they said.
