Sunday, July 12, 2020 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
It speaks highly of the United States and the quality of its higher education system that last year a record 1.09 million international students came here to study.
There are vast direct benefits to this — the students’ tuition provides significant support to universities, the money they spend here enhances our economy, and there is a powerful, albeit indirect benefit: The students carry American values with them when they return to their home countries. Over the decades, American-educated foreign students have become leaders in their countries and are a soft source of U.S. influence overseas.
It speaks just as lowly about President Donald Trump that he issued a directive last week that could send many, if not most, of those students back home.
Trump’s order would strip visas from international students whose coursework is done entirely online, which is a strong possibility for many as universities switch to remote instruction as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19.
The order was largely seen as a ham-fisted effort by Trump to force universities to reopen as normal in the fall, part of his insane bid to get the economy rolling again before the November election.
It’s cruel for the students, damaging for schools and an affront to America’s pride as a global beacon of education and freedom.
The move has left students with a no-win choice: either figure out a way to take on-campus courses and risk exposure to the disease, or lose their visas. Students nationwide are scrambling to arrange plans for the fall, some going so far as to consider changing majors to courses that by design have to be taught in-person.
Schools are facing the financial hit that would come with the wholesale departures of international students, and are working on solutions that would allow them to keep the students in the U.S. and teach them safely. Importantly, the high tuition that international students pay helps lower tuition for U.S. students.
Commendably, UNLV joined a group of universities nationwide in signing onto a lawsuit filed by Harvard and Massachusetts to shield the students. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford reportedly is considering filing suit on behalf of the state as well. The state of California is challenging the ruling in court, and other states are weighing the option.
In Congress, nearly 100 delegates sent a letter to immigration officials and the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday condemning the directive as "irrational and xenophobic."
It’s vital to defend international students from Trump, because they’re an enormous asset to the U.S.
Take Shekhar Singh, one of about 1,000 international students at UNLV. Singh is a brilliant young man who, after earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science in his native India, applied for a student visa and enrolled at UNLV. He’s on track to earn his doctoral degree in the spring of 2021, after which he plans to gain work experience in the U.S. before returning to India.
Think about that. Singh, whose academic focus is on artificial intelligence, is a young professional who will take his talents to our workforce and then will go back to his native country having experienced America’s culture and values.
Asked what he would take from UNLV to India, he cites the strength of the teamwork and diversity he experienced here — Asian American students working alongside African American students working alongside students from an array of countries, etc. That’s exactly the type of strength America should be exporting and nurturing worldwide.
When the world’s best and brightest come here, it strengthens our schools, our communities, our industries and our global leadership role. At UNLV, students are studying in fields of critical need to our economy — engineering, hospitality and more.
The skills and talents of these students drive innovation and development in our workplaces. In terms of the economy, shutting out foreign students or sending them packing is more than counterproductive, it’s destructive.
As Singh puts it, shutting off talent from around the globe only hurts us.
Fortunately, Singh doesn’t believe he’ll be affected by the directive, as he’s finished his coursework and now is working on directed projects with his instructors.
But others aren’t in the same position, which creates problems not only for them but for entire communities. Forcing these students into on-campus courses creates a danger to public health. Trump’s repugnant actions could cause universities to become the kind of coronavirus spreader sites that occurred in states where GOP extremist governors reopened too soon.
It’s critical for Americans to stand up for these students. We can’t sit by and let Trump drive talented, smart people out of our universities, or force them into unsafe situations on campus, for no reason other than his kamikaze bid for reelection.
