Image via Wikimedia Commons. Copyright Sdkb.
In the final days of the fall semester, Pomona College and Claremont McKenna College sent emails to their student bodies addressing “shifts in immigration policy” which may occur under a second Trump presidency, potentially affecting Pomona and CMC’s large cohorts of international students. Other schools across the country, including Harvard, Brown, Johns Hopkins, MIT, and USC, have made similar statements. As of December 31st, Scripps, Pitzer, and Harvey Mudd have not publicly advised international students on their travel plans.
CMC’s email, sent on December 4th and co-signed by Vice President of Student Affairs Diana Graves and Dean of Students Jimmy Doan, states that while “the President-Elect has not made sweeping statements about potential travel bans as was the case in 2016,” non-citizen students traveling internationally during winter break are encouraged to return to the U.S. by January 19th, a day before Trump’s inauguration and two days before classes begin on January 21st.
The email also addressed concerns surrounding statements by President-elect Trump about mass deportations of undocumented immigrants in his second term. The email notes that California Law “severely limits state and local law enforcement from investigating, interrogating, detaining, detecting, or arresting persons for immigration enforcement purposes,” and that CMC and the Claremont Colleges “will provide maximum support to undocumented students.”
On December 12th, Pomona president Gabi Starr sent a similar email, advising international students, who represent nearly 14% of Pomona’s student body, to return to campus before January 20th. The email also addressed concerns about the status of undocumented and “DACAmented” students, noting that Pomona has “been intentional since 2008 in welcoming undocumented students to the College.” Starr added that Claremont Colleges Campus Safety officers “do not inquire about, document, or take any action based on an individual’s immigration status,” and would work closely with the College to ensure that the community “feels safe and supported.”
Both emails provide resources for potentially affected students, with Pomona including information about the “Sagehen Pro Bono immigration legal resources network,” a group composed mainly of alumni open to students, alumni, and their family members.
While the incoming administration has yet to announce any formal plans regarding international students at U.S. universities, Trump has spoken about revoking the student visas of “radical anti-American and anti-semitic foreigners at colleges and universities” and sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to protests to enforce such a policy. Trump's exact plans for promised “mass deportations” also remain unclear, though his statements promise an unprecedented effort to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. At the same time, Trump has floated the idea of awarding green cards to all non-citizen U.S. college graduates.
The Claremont Colleges have not yet addressed the implications of the impending second Trump presidency in full, though administrators are preparing behind the scenes for what promises to be a tumultuous four years in higher education. At Pomona College in particular, some fear that its substantial endowment, left to far-left political leanings, DEI initiatives, Title VI antisemitism accusations, and recent history of anti-Israel protests will make the school a prime target for an administration which has described universities as “the enemy.” Among other measures, Trump has proposed taxing university endowments, which may have a severe impact on universities' ability to provide financial aid, and pulling or reducing federal funding to schools seen as too “woke.”
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