Rethinking the Politics of the International Student Experience in the Age of Trump

We are living in troubling and uncertain times. Xenophobia is on the rise as
right-wing, authoritarian nationalism has witnessed significant electoral
gains and the very ideals of democratic inclusiveness and international
pluralism are under direct attack. With the election of Donald Trump as
President of the United States, the country with the largest share of
international students globally is increasingly becoming an unwelcoming
place to study abroad. On January 27, 2017, Trump issued an executive
order prohibiting entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries
(Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen), and severely
restricting the admission of refugees, into the United States. This initial
attempt at a “Muslim travel ban” was subsequently blocked by the federal
courts, yet the ongoing efforts of the current U.S. administration to
discriminate against Muslim travelers at the border have had a chilling effect
on international travel more generally.