1/ ICE’s new policy on international students illustrates the interconnectedness among nationalism, capitalism, xenophobia, ableism, and racism.

2/ Trump has been mobilizing anti-China, anti-immigrant, and white supremacist discourse to gain support, and to bolster exclusionary US nationalism and exceptionalism. The ICE policy reinforces all these ideologies by scapegoating international students.

3/ Last month, citing national security, Trump issued a selective F and J-1 visa ban for Chinese international students. As @ericfish85 points out, Chinese international students already face racism and Sinophobia on college campuses. These policies only worsen the situation.

4/ Racism renders certain lives more disposable than others. Not all international students have a home they can safely return to. HK students can be prosecuted under the new national security law for their activism in the US.

5/ A Chinese international student was jailed in China for a tweet he sent while in Minnesota, while another had to go into hiding after giving a commencement speech at UMaryland

6/ A blanket immigration policy like this one makes clear that these international students’ lives and safety are not valuable.

7/ This policy also allows universities to continue making money off of international students, even after they are deported. Those who are asked to leave the country would still have to pay tuition to take online classes.

8/ Note that international students, ineligible for in-state tuition and financial aid, are money makers for colleges. And they are often discussed as such.

9/ Finally, by forcing international students to take in-person classes, the policy ignores folx who may not be able to do so because of health conditions and disabilities. There is little protection for folx who are disabled and an “alien” by immigration standard.

10/ We will inevitably see arguments that say we should allow international students to stay bc they “add to the diversity of the country,” or “are smart and productive, and will contribute to the US economy.” Before endorsing these claims, pause.

11/ Can we advocate for and with international students not because they can contribute to the US, but because they are humans who deserve our support against oppressive state policies?

#StudentBan