How sudden deportations and unpredictable enforcement are reshaping international student travel across the U.S.
International students are taking a close look at their holiday travel plans amid increased concerns over President Trump’s immigration crackdown, which has threatened the status of thousands since he took office.
Foreign visitors are eyeing travel with fear after seeing at least one student deported over Thanksgiving break when visiting family and watching other reports of students who have been detained over the past year with no prior notification or criminal activity.
Advocates say students and schools are struggling to find the right balance between concern and overcaution amid the administration’s general hostility and lack of transparency.
During Thanksgiving travel, Babson College freshman Any Lucia Lopez Belloza was set to fly from Boston to Texas to see her family but was detained by immigration officials after going through airport security.
Lopez Belloza, who came to the U.S. At 7 years old, he was swiftly deported back to Honduras. The Trump administration said she had a deportation order dating back to 2015, but her lawyer said he cannot find any record of the order and his client was never informed of the decision.
The deportation also came after a federal judge issued an emergency order that Lopez Belloza could not be sent out of the country for at least 72 hours.
“I wouldn’t typically classify her as an international student, which makes it even more alarming that here’s essentially a Dreamer going back to Texas and being stopped on a domestic flight within the United States and then sent back to her home country,” said Shaun Carver, president of the International House Association.
“Just anecdotally talking to our residents… there are some who are concerned about these types of stories and this unpredictability of who and when and how enforcement is going to take place, and certainly they’re adjusting the travel plans,” added Carver, who is also the CEO of the International House at the University of California, Berkeley.
Lopez Belloza’s swift deportation is only the latest example of the administration’s actions against foreign students.
The president has talked about wanting to limit international enrollment more broadly, added a social media component to the student visa vetting process, pulled thousands of visa registrations before a court ordered them restored and repeatedly targeted for deportation students who were involved in the pro-Palestinian movement on campuses.
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