Due to the sensitive nature of this article, we have granted anonymity to some interviewees featured in this article.

To counter what it calls “foreign student visa abuse,” the Trump administration proposed a new plan on Aug. 27 to limit the amount of time foreign students and scholars can stay in the United States.

This plan is only one of the most recent measures in the Trump administration’s broader crackdown on immigration and international students. Over the past several months, officials have revoked thousands of student visas and deported students for their involvement in campus protests or political activity online. As of Aug. 18, over 6,000 international students across the U.S. have had their student visas revoked. Some have been restored following legal challenges. 

In the months leading up to the fall semester, many international students at Wellesley had a tumultuous time responding to the crackdown and increased surveillance of their speech and online presence.

“There’s crazy censorship … and I’m not sure if domestic students actually know what’s going on in regards to censorship and border control,” said International Student 1, from China.

For the past ten years, international students have composed between 12% and 15% of Wellesley’s student body. As of Sept. 2, Wellesley had 2,289 enrolled students for the 2025-26 school year, including 296 international students, accounting for 12.9% of the student body — a number not too far off from the 13.7% enrolled last year. The Admissions Office will release the official reporting numbers in October 2025. 

While Wellesley has not witnessed any dramatic changes in international enrollment, some colleges are seeing declines in the number of enrolled international students due to the Trump administration’s recent policies.

According to a Forbes analysis of data from the U.S. International Trade Administration and Customs and Border Protection, the number of international students arriving in the U.S. on visas was 28.5% lower in July 2025 than in July 2024. 

“Wellesley in particular is a sheltering and nurturing place, but its powers of sheltering and nurturing are limited, so as a rational person, I would be hesitant to come [as a student],” said Professor Emeritus of English Lawrence Rosenwald. “I imagine that many international students are having second thoughts or third thoughts about coming.”

The Boston area has had several notable headlines regarding international students. In March 2024, federal agents detained a Turkish Tufts University student, Rümeysa Öztürk, who had written an opinion piece in the Tufts Daily disagreeing with the university’s response to pro-Palestinian protests and demands.  

The Trump administration also attempted to ban international students from Harvard University in June, accusing the university of failing to turn over records on international students to the Department of Homeland Security, as well as having ties to foreign adversaries. A federal judge in Boston granted the university’s request for a preliminary injunction, blocking the administration’s plan, on June 23. No changes to this case have occurred since.

Wellesley students’ troubles with visas

Many international first-years at Wellesley experienced a tumultuous process of acquiring visas, as the Trump administration paused student visa appointments to implement stricter social media screening into visa applications. 

“[The office] asked me to upload all of my social media, like anything I have online, to the U.S. government website so they can check through my social media, including my private Instagram accounts,” International Student 1 said. 

International students at Wellesley further reported concerns about getting their visa applications rejected for supporting causes that the Trump administration opposes.

“I was so scared, so I unliked all the reels about Palestine, or anything about the war in general,” said International Student 1, who further decided to unfollow any accounts specifically in support of Palestine.

At the international student orientation in late August, College administration even warned students about online conduct.

“They specified to be careful, [to not] post anything that could be considered as sensitive, or might get you in trouble,” said International Student 2.

Students also experienced long wait times for visa applications. International Student 1 said she was only able to get her visa in mid-August. The delay in receiving the visa left her not knowing if she would make it to campus by the start of classes. 

“I was planning for [a] gap year already by that time,” she said, despite not having prior plans to do so.

Other students were impacted by the travel ban that took effect in June. Students from countries including Iran, Sudan, and Libya were effectively banned from U.S. travel. While some international students were struggling to cement visa appointments, students from these countries were unsure if they could attend Wellesley this academic year at all. 

“I was so tense, like, ‘Am I going?’” said International Student 2. “It was a really uncertain situation … You know, my future is at stake.”

Across the U.S., foreign students and scholars are leaving the country after the Trump administration made cuts to grant funding. The increasingly hostile atmosphere towards foreign individuals marks a shift from the U.S.’s historical reputation as a premier site for innovation and research. 

“I think it’s really concerning in general,” said International Student 3. “This is a sign for me that there is no possibility for me to stay in the U.S. and find a job after I graduate [from] Wellesley.” 

She cited the new changes made to the H-1B Visa Program as a cause for concern. On Sept. 21, the Trump administration added a $100,000 fee for skilled foreign workers seeking to apply for a H-1B visa. Employers have historically used these visas to hire international workers specifically within the science and technology fields. The Trump administration has argued that this promotes the use of foreign workers over American ones. 

“It would be tragic to lose international students at Wellesley, either because they are unable to enter the country or because it feels unsafe to them to come,” said English and Creative Writing Professor Susan L. Meyer.

According to Meyer, having a diverse body of students is crucial, as it “brings new perspectives to the classroom.”

“For example, a Chinese student I had recently said interesting things in class one day about the differences between Chinese and American children’s literature. I have had students from India and Pakistan comment on the representation of India in 19th-century British fiction,” she said.

Ultimately, people like Rosenwald are worried that fewer international students would reduce the “exhilarating diversity” on the Wellesley campus. 

“We, the country [and] the institution, would lose immensely if that influx of new and diverse energy were to cease or even to diminish significantly,” he said.

Contact the editor responsible for this story: Lyanne Wang