As Trump targets international students, here’s who it could affect in the Philly region
More than 41,500 international students study in Pennsylvania. Trump's targeting them could affect University of Pennsylvania, Drexel, Swarthmore, Penn State, Rutgers, Temple and others.
Tens of thousands of international students study full-time in Pennsylvania and face uncertainty as President Donald Trump‘s administration places a new focus on higher education visas.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X that the U.S. would revoke the visas of Chinese students deemed connected to the Communist Party. On Tuesday, the U.S. announced it would pause new student and exchange visitor visa interviews. And last week, Trump attempted to ban all international students from Harvard University.
» READ MORE: Tensions rise on local campuses as Trump targets international students
A judge temporarily halted the Harvard ban Thursday.
There were 41,500 total international students studying full time in Pennsylvania in 2023, according to the most recently available data published by the National Center for Education Statistics. That ranks as the sixth highest number across the U.S. Those students make up 8.7% of all full-time students in the state, tied for ninth most by percentage among all states.
While it is unclear how the threats and actions from the Trump administration will evolve, they could ultimately affect thousands of students and impact finances and enrollment at colleges across the country.
More than 26% of the University of Pennsylvania’s student body, for example, is made up of international students, the data show.
Here is how international students were distributed across the Philadelphia region during 2023: