Fewer International Students Coming to U.S. Harms Our Economy

Actions have consequences and the Republican leadership's xenophobic immigration policy is stopping the best and the brightest from coming to America.  Historically, students have come from across the globe to study at our universities and then contribute to our society, growing our economy and strengthening our nation'a future.  Not anymore.

U.S. enrollment of international students declined for the second year in a row, sending waves of unease across American colleges and universities....The number of new international students enrolling at American institutions fell by 6.6% during the 2017-18 academic year, on top of a 3.3% decline the year before....

For years, the United States has benefitted from attracting the world's largest foreign-born student population. Now, inexplicably, the U.S. seems to have decided to intentionally forfeit that enormous strategic asset.

Foreign students are big business: They pumped $42 billion into U.S. college and university coffers in the 2017-18 school year alone.  The shift is due to a combination of politics, fear, geography and branding....  

The U.S. is also losing students to English-speaking countries such as Canada, Australia and the U.K, which have all seen growth in the past year.  

Graduate schools were hardest hit among all segments of the higher-education market: Enrollment fell by 2.1%.

Foreign students coming to US universities both gives the US a huge cultural impact on the world and is a source of trade surplus. We're throwing it away for no reason.

...international enrollment began declining precipitously two years ago, following a “perfect storm” that included Trump’s election with his tough talk on immigration and the shooting of an Indian immigrant worker in Olathe, Kan.

The consensus among economists is that skilled immigrants produce MORE job opportunities for Americans, not less.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/fewer-international-students-heading-to-the-u-s-1542105004