The USC Office of International Services, which deals with international students, sent out an unusual email this week: Students traveling home abroad for winter break were advised it might be best to return before the start of the semester.
In the email, USC told the international students they hoped they had a nice Thanksgiving break -- then warned them about possible changes to immigration policies in the near future that could affect them.
”This is especially important given that a new presidential administration will take office on January 20, 2025, and – as is common – may issue one or more Executive Orders impacting travel to the U.S. and visa processing,” USC stated in an email. “While there’s no certainty such orders will be issued, the safest way to avoid any challenges is to be physically present in the U.S. before the Spring semester begins on January 13, 2025.”
Jan. 13 is one week before the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump, who has promised anti-immigrant policies including mass deportations.
The news potentially affects winter break travel plans for many international students, especially those who need to take long flights home. For many, the advice from the university directly impacts decisions about whether or not to even go back to their home countries.
One international student is Sinong Zhou, a communication management major from Hunan, China.
“I do know a lot of my friends from China, and they originally decided to go back to home, and now they have to cancel the plan,” Zhou said. “Especially because for the winter vacation, if we want to go back to home, we usually want to stay one week longer than the usual winter vacation, so we can stay there for the Chinese Spring Festival.”
She says if she has to come back before Jan. 13, her plans would definitely change.
“I think if I wanted to go back to home for the winter vacation, and staying there until Spring Festival is like a primary reason, and if I cannot, I will just then choose not to go back home,” Zhou said.
While this news raises concerns among many international students, many also understand the university’s approach in these special circumstances. Peter, a Chinese student at Viterbi who did not wish to use his last name, talked about the potential difficulties international students might face come January.
“There is a chance that it’s going to be harder, or maybe more restrictions put on entering the US border. But for the school, I think they’re just trying to be giving out this warning so that people know beforehand,” he said. “There’s a possibility that is this is going to happen, but it’s not guaranteed it’s going to happen, because I think in the email, they say it explicitly, like there is a chance, but nobody knows for sure.”
Eddie, a South Korean junior who is studying biomedical engineering, said the uncertainty might be the hardest part: an unpredictable situation caused by an unpredictable president.
“Regarding Trump administration and the future events that might happen, I am a little concerned because he’s an unpredictable person,” Eddie said. “The U.S. has had him as president before, so yeah, he also mentioned some policies regarding international students and stuff. In general, I’m concerned.”
USC has the largest international student population of any school in California, the fifth largest in the U.S.