US Colleges Face Budget Cuts as International Student Enrollment Plummets Under Trump Policies

DePaul University enrolled approximately 21,000 students last year, with around 2,500 international students among them.

DePaul University has announced immediate spending reductions following a 30% drop in international enrollment this fall. This decision represents the latest in a series of measures taken by US colleges grappling with the disruptive educational and immigration policies implemented by President Donald Trump's administration.

While the exact reduction amount remains undetermined, potential measures include implementing a hiring freeze, cutting executive compensation, and limiting discretionary spending, according to university president Robert Manuel in a Tuesday memo to faculty.

The private Catholic university in Chicago experienced a decrease of 755 international students compared to the previous year, Manuel reported. First-year international graduate student enrollment declined even more dramatically, falling by nearly 62%. In the previous academic year, DePaul had approximately 21,000 students, with about 2,500 from overseas.

Manuel attributed this year's enrollment decline to visa acquisition difficulties and diminished interest in US education following federal policy changes.

DePaul joins dozens of institutions announcing budget cuts in response to Trump administration policies disrupting higher education. These policies include threats to billions in academic research program funding, which traditionally serves as a strong incentive for international students. Though complete enrollment statistics remain unavailable, preliminary data collected by Reuters suggests many first-year international graduate students are selecting alternative study destinations.

Student visas have also become a target under Trump. Some have been revoked, while new visa applicants face delays. The US State Department now requires prospective students to make their social media accounts public, allowing government officials reviewing visa applications to screen out students perceived as harboring hostile attitudes toward the United States.

In May, the administration attempted to block Harvard University from enrolling international students, claiming the university failed to address antisemitism and ethnic harassment on campus. A US district court temporarily halted this action, though the government has filed an appeal.

"We are all worried about the safety of our community members, the safeguarding of academic freedom, and the new financial challenges driven by changes in federal funding and visa processing," Manuel wrote to DePaul faculty. "These concerns are so severe and debilitating that it's getting hard to recognise higher education anymore."

When asked for comment, the US departments of state and homeland security provided statements emphasizing the government's authority to regulate international students.

"This isn't that hard," stated Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security. "If you are living and studying in the United States on a visa, you are a guest in this country. Act like it. If you are a foreign student pushing Hamas propaganda, glorifying terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, harassing Jews, taking over buildings, or other anti-American actions that we have seen lately on these campuses, you can book yourself a ticket home. You can expect your visa will be revoked."

Besides DePaul, at least 35 other institutions have announced budget cuts responding to Trump administration policies. Johns Hopkins University eliminated over 2,000 positions in March after the administration cut $800 million in research program grants. Northwestern University reduced staffing by 425 positions, while the University of Southern California laid off more than 630 employees; each cited reduced federal funding, anticipated decreases in international student enrollment, and other financial pressures.

In interviews with Reuters, several students referenced federal policies when explaining their enrollment decisions.

An Indian student accepted to the University of California, Davis, decided to defer admission and is considering alternatives due to uncertainty about obtaining a student visa. "My parents were also scared that I might get deported or something if I go right now," she explained.

A Chinese student who graduated from Northwestern University in 2024 was accepted into a US doctoral program in economics but chose to enroll in the United Kingdom due to visa uncertainties and precarious research funding.

"Except one of my professors, all of them suggested that if I have a non-US option, I should think about it carefully," he said. "So I made that choice."

Approximately 1.2 million international students studied in the US during the 2024-2025 academic year, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators estimates. In July, NAFSA projected this number would decline by up to 15% this year, potentially costing the US economy nearly $7 billion.

With universities still calculating their fall enrollment, comprehensive nationwide data remains unavailable. Department of Homeland Security's Student and Exchange Visitor Program data shows international student numbers studying in the US this month have decreased 2.4% from last September – from 965,437 to 942,131. However, these figures provide an incomplete picture as incoming and outgoing student numbers remain in flux, and some institutions haven't yet reported their fall statistics.

Reuters contacted administrators or spokespersons at ten institutions with consistently high foreign enrollment. All reported declines in overall international student enrollment – ranging from a 1% reduction at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to a 19% drop at the University at Buffalo. Illinois has enrolled 13,268 international students, while Buffalo has 4,087.

Both universities enrolled more international freshmen this fall. However, substantial declines in graduate students from abroad drove their overall foreign enrollment figures down. The decrease was most pronounced among first-year graduate students, with Illinois Urbana-Champaign experiencing a 22% reduction and Buffalo seeing a 58% decline.

Any decrease in first-year student enrollment creates a compounding effect, according to Dr. Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA. When admitted first-year master's program students choose not to enroll, institutions lose their tuition for two years.

Exacerbating these financial challenges is the fact that many international students are ineligible for financial aid and therefore pay full tuition. They represent an important revenue source for numerous institutions seeking to offset declining domestic enrollment, increasing operational costs, and reductions in government funding.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration requested universities sign an agreement that could further strain many institutions financially. This proposal seeks to cap international undergraduate enrollment at 15%.

"Universities that rely on foreign students to fund their institutions risk, among other things, potentially reducing spots available to deserving American students," stated a memo to universities shared with Reuters by a White House official.

In June, credit ratings agency Moody's warned that declining enrollment could present a credit risk for some institutions. The report identified schools with graduate programs heavily dependent on international students as particularly vulnerable, noting this dependence has grown over the past decade.

"Graduate students often pay higher tuition fees for certain programs, so the loss of these students could have a particularly severe revenue impact," the report concluded.