International Students Infuse Tens Of Millions Of Dollars Into Local Economies Across The US. What Happens If They Stay Home?
BY BARNET SHERMAN PROFESSOR, MULTINATIONAL FINANCE AND TRADE, BOSTON UNIVERSITY The Trump administration has recently revoked the visas of more than 1,300 foreign college students – detaining some – and launched immigration enforcement actions on college campuses across the country. This has raised concerns among the more than 1.1 million international students studying at U.S. universities. Headlines are filled with perspectives from immigration and civil rights experts , but one aspect of the story often goes overlooked: the tremendous economic impact international students have on local communities. Although the actual impact on enrollment won’t be known until the next academic year, interest from foreign students in pursuing graduate-level education in the U.S. fell sharply in the early days of the Trump administration, one analysis showed. If these global scholars stay home, that’s bad economic news for cities and towns across the United States. A $44 billion economic impac...