Colorado universities brace for plunge in international students due to fears sparked by Trump policies

Miami Herald

24-06-2025

DENVER - Colorado universities are bracing for major disruptions to their international student populations this fall in light of federal hostility toward foreign-born students and rapidly shifting immigration policies from the Trump administration.
More than 10,360 international students attended colleges and universities in the Centennial State during the 2023-2024 school year, according to the most recent data available from the Colorado Department of Higher Education.
International students contribute more than $400 million to the state's economy and support more than 3,800 jobs, making education Colorado's sixth-largest export, the agency said.
Policy decisions since President Donald Trump returned to office in January - including the sudden revocation of student visas, threats of detention and deportation, social media monitoring and travel bans - have created an adversarial environment that higher education leaders fear will deter international students from studying here, damaging the nation's global competitiveness and research capabilities.
As a result, Colorado universities are budgeting for potentially sharp declines in their international student enrollment this fall, which could pose a significant financial hit to institutions and lead to across-the-board tuition increases, experts said.
The University of Colorado Boulder, home to the state's largest share of foreign students, predicts a nearly 25% drop in international undergraduate enrollment this fall.
International students aren't just a monetary boon for campuses. Higher education officials say they bring rich cultural diversity to Colorado campuses, along with fresh perspectives and specialized skills that are key to innovative research.
In addition to the drop in students, massive federal cuts to scientific research and grants in higher education mean professors and researchers in Colorado and nationwide are being recruited by foreign countries promising to fund their research, said Angie Paccione, the Colorado Department of Higher Education's executive director.
"I don't believe the recovery is going to be a quick recovery," Paccione said of Trump's impact on higher education. "If these policies persist for the remainder of this administration, it's going to take us decades to recover. It's alarming."
Tightening restrictions on foreign students
In April, the Trump administration revoked dozens of Colorado international students' visas along with thousands across the country, sowing chaos as foreign scholars questioned their status and safety in the U.S.
The visa revocations came as the administration cracked down on international students who expressed views opposing Israel's war on Hamas. Nationally, students linked to pro-Palestinian activism in multiple states were taken to detention centers by immigration officers with little information released as to why they were being held.
Impacted students in Colorado and elsewhere filed lawsuits over their legal status to study in the U.S., and the federal government ultimately reversed the termination of the students' legal status.
"When you see international students being snatched up off the street by people in masks with guns, then the uncertainty of whether or not your particular visa is going to be OK for the duration of your time here - that uncertainty makes people choose not to come here," Paccione said.
In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the U.S. would begin "aggressively" revoking the visas of some Chinese students, including those studying in "critical fields" and "those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party."
There are about 1,160 Chinese international students in Colorado, comprising about 11% of the state's international student population - the second most popular country of origin for the state's international scholars behind India, according to state data.
A few weeks ago, the State Department paused scheduling new visa interviews for foreign students wanting to study in America. On Wednesday, the State Department announced a restart to the suspended process, but said applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review as federal officials look for posts and messages that could be considered hostile to the U.S., its government, culture, institutions or founding principles.
And earlier this month, the Trump administration imposed a travel ban and restrictions on 19 countries, blocking or limiting their citizens from entering the United States, saying it was necessary to protect the nation from "foreign terrorists."
"Even if these polices are rescinded, it creates this atmosphere where people feel like they don't want to go to the U.S. now," Paccione said.
'The whole university really values their presence'
CU Boulder hosts the most international students in Colorado, having served about 2,200 students this past spring and around 750 non-students, including professors and researchers.
"They bring different perspectives and life experiences and cultures to domestic students," said Diana Salazar, director of CU Boulder's International Student and Scholar Services. "They bring unique skill sets (that) the researchers here on campus really need. They move forward research that otherwise couldn't move forward. The whole university really values their presence on campus."
CU Boulder is projecting a 24.3% decline in undergraduate international student enrollment and a 14.7% decline in the number of international graduate students this fall in light of the political climate.
Non-resident tuition makes up 11.8% of CU Boulder's 2025-2026 revenue sources, totaling about $789.4 million of the school's $6.7 billion budget, according to university budget documents.
Tuition for international students at CU costs more than it does for in-state or out-of-state domestic students. Depending on the degree, an international student could expect to pay close to $70,000 per year for tuition, housing, meals and supplies this fall.
The university is still seeing an overall enrollment increase of 2.7%, but is budgeting for no increase in federal research money, despite seeing an 8.7% annual increase in such funding historically.
Ultimately, the sharp drop in international students could make college cost more for all students.
"International student tuition helps subsidize some of the tuition for in-state students," Paccione said. "If they don't have revenue coming in from international students … it puts more pressure on raising tuition in Colorado. This next budget cycle, institutions may have to ask for a higher tuition increase."
CU's Salazar said international students are reaching out to her office about the uncertainty of their futures. CU web pages contain a wealth of resources to inform international students about the rapidly changing federal policies and the university's position.
"We reassure them of what we do know, what we don't know, how much we really do value having them here," Salazar said.
Colorado State University has the second-highest international student population in the state with more than 1,200 foreign-born students from more than 100 countries on the Fort Collins campus.
The university did not make a representative available for an interview, but CSU's website addresses pressing questions for the vulnerable student population. CSU warns students that U.S. Customs and Border Protection may inspect their electronic devices and to be mindful of what they're posting on their social media accounts.
International students deferring start dates
Jane Borisova, interim executive director of global engagement at the University of Northern Colorado, knows better than most about international student resiliency.
She came to UNC in 2010 as an international student from Russia, working on her master's degree in linguistically diverse education and teaching English as a foreign language. The Greeley-based academic worked with teachers going into the field and was named the interim director of the entire Office of Global Engagement last year. She now oversees international student education.
"It wouldn't have been possible in any other country, and when I say that, I mean it," Borisova said. "This is what America is known for is offering opportunities that other countries are not. The community is so welcoming. Regardless of political changes, people are really nice and open and helpful. It pains me to see that the powers above us are somehow making this a lesser gift."
It's too early to know how many students will decide not to show up come fall, Borisova said, but UNC is already seeing international students defer to later terms or move to online education options. The Trump administration's potential expansion of its travel ban could hit UNC hard, she said, noting the school often welcomes international scholars from Ghana and Nigeria, two countries that may be targeted.
A selective Fulbright Program - one of the most widely recognized and prestigious scholarships in the world - hosted at UNC is facing difficulties with foreign participants unsure if they'll be able to travel to Colorado amid the political uncertainty, Borisova said.
"It's our strength as a country to be able to appeal to the most talented, most incredible students throughout the globe," Borisova said. "It would be such a travesty to lose this."
'Brain drain'
Uttiyo Raychaudhuri, vice provost for internationalization at the University of Denver, has worked in international education for almost 25 years. He is concerned about the direction it's headed in the U.S.
More than 1,000 international students call DU home each year. Raychaudhuri said it's too early to anticipate how many won't show up come fall, but he predicts a drop on the DU campus as well.
The administrative hurdles that prospective scholars are facing worry him, but what vexes him most is the disintegration of a globally heralded reputation of the U.S. as a place to learn, grow, discover and invent.
"The greatest strength international students bring is the diversity of ideas," Raychaudhuri said. "That makes us more human, it makes us more progressive, it makes us advance. This has been the foundation. It's why this land has continued to lead. We would not want to lose that. That's what I feel is under distress right now. There are other countries waiting to seize on this opportunity."
Paccione, the Colorado Department of Higher Education executive director, said she recently spoke with Colorado School of Mines president Paul Johnson, who also worried about the loss in global competitiveness.
The Trump administration terminated billions in federal research grants across the country - from science and health initiatives to arts funding to humanities programming.
At the Colorado School of Mines - a public research university based in Golden offering degrees in engineering, science and math - Johnson told Paccione professors and graduate students are being recruited outside the country because they no longer have the research dollars to do their work here.
Johnson declined an interview on the matter.
"I don't want to see the brain drain," Paccione said. "Professors are passionate about their research, and if they're unable to do their research, they will go to a place that's going to fund it. We are losing talent in all different industries."
According to the National Foundation for American Policy, immigrants have started more than half of America's startup companies valued at $1 billion or more.
"I sincerely hope this is just a blip that we will course-correct," said DU's Raychaudhuri. "Make no mistake, there is going to be an impact in numbers this year, but if you course-correct now, maybe you can stop this for the future. If not, this could be a declining trend in the long term, and that will add up. It will start becoming fairly devastating."
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(The Daily Camera contributed to this report.)
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