International students are vital assets, not political pawns

In the 2023–24 academic year, more than 1.1 million international students injected a record $43.8 billion into the U.S. economy and supported more than 378,000 jobs.

In a Saturday story by The Journal Gazette’s Ashley Sloboda, it is clear that Indiana reaps significant benefits from matriculating nearly 30,000 international students who added about $997 million to the state economy and supported more than 8,500 jobs across various sectors in the most recent academic year.

However, proposed policies from the incoming Trump administration could cause problems for students, universities, and Hoosiers. Past restrictions on student visas and travel bans, along with alarming rhetoric during Donald Trump’s first term, exacerbated enrollment declines that were starting after the Great Recession. Yet these students are intellectual and fiscal assets.

International students contributed $44.1 million to northeast Indiana’s economy, supporting nearly 200 jobs in the state’s 3rd Congressional District. Indiana Tech and Purdue University Fort Wayne ranked among the state’s top 10 institutions for international student contributions, generating a combined $42 million.

Read the full editorial in The Journal Gazette (subscription required).