The New York Times has an article out today on fears among prospective international students concerning their safety if they come to the US.
This won’t be the only article covering this fear and the impact on education in the US…not to mention the negative impact on the talent pool available to US companies in four to five years.
Are the questions about safety and the fear valid? Of course, the concern is valid: the US has just elected a president who ran on a decidedly anti-immigrant platform, who ran by pandering to the fear of racists and bigots, and we’ve seen reports of dramatically increased violence and harassment against various minorities since the election (@ShaunKing has been collecting and curating these on Twitter).
I wouldn’t presume to predict what will happen over the next four years. That said, I can make a few educated guesses and offer some informed advice to those contemplating school in the US. I can’t offer a blanket reassurance that “all will be fine” – but there’s reason to be hopeful that a safe and peaceful life attending school in the US will continue to be possible, and steps you can take to make this more likely.
I would make the point – and this isn’t particularly comforting – that hate crimes occurred even before this last election. We don’t yet have the data to say whether what we’re seeing is a statistically significant, or whether it will last. But the rule of law hasn’t collapsed in this country, nor is there reason to think it will immediately upon Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Criminal activity is still policed and prosecuted. And thankfully, relatively rare – enough so that the instances being publicized are still considered “news.”
What may be a bigger factor is being able to live in a community that feels welcoming on a day-to-day basis. There are areas – large areas, in fact, going by population – where the dominant view is one of inclusiveness, and where even harassment of non-citizens is extremely rare. Remember that Trump did not win the popular vote – the numerical majority of those who voted did not vote for him; he won on account of the US’ electoral college system where it is possible to win despite receiving fewer votes than another candidate.
If genuinely concerned, limiting your search to schools and institutions located in more globally-oriented geographic areas. A good proxy might be to look to the areas that by and large did not vote for Trump. A map broken down by individual county can be found here, about half way down the page.
We wish you good luck in making these critical decisions about your future!