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Academics really need to pay attention to what's happening with regards to international students right now. My experience as an F-1 student was that *almost nobody* who's also not an international student, understands what it's like to be one.
International students pay the highest tuitions, work the lowest-paying jobs on campus, and stress constantly about their immigration status and life after graduation.
They do this while fielding active contempt from others in academia, including faculty, who dismiss their intellect and their work because they think international students are mere "cash cows" who wouldn't be here if the universities didn't need their money.
Most academics also have zero understanding of how the U.S. immigration system works. I will never forget the day a tenured faculty member asked me why I wasn't applying for U.S. citizenship because she overheard me talking about the difficulties of being an intl. student.
Most international students are probably having a very tough day today. If you're a faculty member, and know one, please reach out to them. But please don't offer immigration advice.
And please, take a moment to learn more about how the Trump administration is tearing the already-broken U.S. immigration system apart.
People make these decisions for many complex reasons. There's the perceived worth of a U.S. degree, the pull of the "American Dream," some have families or networks here. But yes, if I were an intl. student now, I would be strongly looking to go to other countries, incl. Canada.
