by Jay Bookman, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

April 17, 2025

“It’s our mission to enhance your college experience through the internationalization of campus,” the University of Georgia tells its 2,600 foreign students on its website. “No matter your held identity, perspective and worldview, there’s a place for everyone.”

Except, there’s not a place for everyone. 

Not anymore.

All around the country, including here in Georgia, hundreds and most likely thousands of foreign students are being stripped of their student visas for little or no apparent reason, and are told to either deport themselves immediately or be arrested and deported by force. 

Agents for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under pressure to meet deportation quotas, have found those students to be easy pickings. They’re simple to find – their names and addresses are already in a federal database – and ICE agents are apparently sifting through that database, trying to find any reason, plausible or implausible, to evict people.

In some cases, students are being targeted for voicing support for Palestinians, not necessarily in protests but on social media and other outlets as well. One student in Vermont, a 10-year U.S. resident with a green card, was arrested for deportation at an interview that he scheduled as part of his process to become an American citizen, and we still don’t know the reason. Others have been ordered to leave the country immediately based on years-old traffic tickets or dropped misdemeanor charges, and some based on no apparent reason at all. 

Lawsuits have been filed in federal courts here in Georgia and elsewhere, attempting to force the government to justify its actions, but the outcome of those suits is uncertain. The fact that there’s so little rhyme or reason to the deportation orders, which come with no warning, makes them even more frightening and dangerous. These aren’t terrorists or criminals who are being targeted. They are people who came here legally, through the process, and the random nature of their attempted removal makes the message clear: 

Immigrants, get out.

The impact here in Georgia can be significant. Emory University hosts roughly 3,300 foreign undergraduates and more than 1,000 post-graduate students and scholars, many in the medical field. Kennesaw State enrolls more than 1,600 international students, and Georgia State has more than twice that number.

Not surprisingly, Georgia Tech hosts the largest contingent of international students in the state. In addition to more than 1,600 undergraduate students, Tech has attracted almost 12,000 post-graduate students to its campus, representing the best and the brightest of more than 100 countries. They make up more than a third of Tech’s post-grad student body.

Those students and the often-cutting-edge research they conduct have in turn helped to attract venture capital, startups and incubators to Georgia Tech’s Technology Square in midtown Atlanta. Companies such as NCR, Boeing and others have invested more than $1 billion in projects at Tech Square, which according to Georgia Tech has “the highest density of startups, corporate innovators, academic researchers, and students in the entire southeastern United States,” with “over 100 startups, 5 startup accelerators, 25 corporate innovation centers, 7 venture funds, 10 research labs, 10 Top 10 engineering programs (and) one Top 10 MBA program.”

These are, or ought to be, the foundations upon which a modern, prosperous economy are built. In fact, according to one study, “21 of the 87 privately held U.S. companies valued at $1 billion or more had a founder who first came to the United States as an international student.” 

Yet we’re in the process of running them off.

In addition, foreign students are a big revenue generator for many schools, because they generally are able and willing to pay full tuition, in effect subsidizing their U.S. classmates. If the flow of international students and revenue is shut down, as seems likely, some smaller private schools may even be forced to close. Overall, higher education is an American specialty, an “industry” renowned around the world for its quality, and we’re locking the doors to incoming customers. 

The impact of these deportation attempts goes well beyond those individuals being targeted for removal. Word has already spread overseas, where these evictions are creating a climate of fear and distrust that will last generations. To make things even worse, the Trump regime is also attempting to slash funding for American scholars who want to study and do research overseas, through programs such as the Fulbright. 

What supposedly began as a concern about illegal immigration has grown into something much uglier and destructive. We are shutting ourselves off from the rest of the world. We are telling them we don’t want their business, we don’t want their friendship, we don’t want them.

It’s just crazy what we’re doing to ourselves. 

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.