The United States of America is noted around the world for many things. Of course, our most notable and noble treasure is our democracy. At least, it was, until Donald Trump came along. But two additional treasures we have, that are the envy of the world, are our medical centers and our institutions of higher education. Trump is degrading these, too.
When leaders from around the world seek medical treatment, they often travel to the United States. The Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and the list goes on. Medical research and treatment centers in the United States conduct vital studies and clinical trials for cancer and other diseases and conditions, making the U.S. a global leader in medical research and scientific discovery.
At Johns Hopkins University, Trump’s cuts of $800 million in government research grants were followed by the layoffs of more than 2,000 people. Hopkins is a leader in the world for medical research, paid for by donations, private foundations and the federal government. Trump is defunding much of this research so that he can extend the tax cut he gave to his rich friends in 2017. Various estimates, including from the Congressional Budget Office, reported that the tax cut extension in the Republican budget proposal will add between $2.4 trillion and $3.8 trillion to the national debt. The CBO also estimates that their budget will kick 10.9 million people off of government health care programs such as the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid.
The Trump administration recently put a pause on new visa appointments for 6,653 new foreign-born medical doctors who graduated from non-U.S. medical schools and have been accepted by U.S. hospitals to complete a 3 to 5-year residency program starting July 1 of this year, according to the National Resident Matching Program. Hospitals desperately need these new doctors to complete their residency training in the United States so that they can practice medicine here. The American Medical Association says that by 2027, the U.S. will have about 124,000 physician vacancies. Without these new international doctors in the pipeline, many communities, especially in rural America, will be without doctors.
Our nation’s colleges and universities are the envy of the world. International students are more than willing to pay full tuition to attend an American university. Not only do they earn a degree, but they also learn about democracy and take these lessons back to their home countries.
During the 2023-24 academic year, 1.13 million international students were enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities, accounting for approximately 6% of the 19.1 million students enrolled in American universities. Twenty-five percent of them were Chinese students. I can only imagine the education these students received beyond the classroom by observing our democracy first-hand.
What are international students studying? According to the Open Doors 2024 Report on International Educational Exchange, 56% of international students are studying science, 25% are studying math and computer science and 20% are studying engineering. Many science, math and computer science programs in the United States are populated mainly by international students. Without them, these programs would not be available for American students. Many international students stay in the U.S. to support important American industries and research centers.
International students are a valuable economic asset to their American communities. They contributed approximately $45 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2023-24 academic year and supported over 378,000 American jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Twelve states, according to the National Association of Foreign Students Association (NAFSA), saw over $1 billion in economic activity related to international students within their borders.
Until Trump came into office, international students wanted to study in the U.S., and their numbers were on the rise. The long-term impact of his attacks on international students at Harvard University and other universities remains to be seen. Early data, however, suggests that Trump is scaring them away. This is a blessing to other nations and their institutions of higher education. “Competition for the world’s best and brightest is increasing,” said Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA.
As stated by James Glanz, writing for The New York Times, U.S. universities frequently secure the best and brightest students from India and around the world. However, Raj Ladher, professor at the National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, stated that only one of his 30 graduates is heading to the U.S. this year due to the current political turmoil in Washington. Instead, they are heading to Austria, Japan and Australia.
“China and Europe are on hiring sprees,” reports Kate Zernike, writing for The New York Times. Meanwhile, applications for graduate and postdoctoral positions in the U.S. have “dropped sharply or dried up entirely since President Trump took office.” Zernike reports that France is creating new positions for American scientists whose federal grants have been canceled. Portugal reports that job inquiries from junior faculty members in the U.S are up tenfold over the last two months.
Zernike tells the story of neuroscience professor Ardem Patapoutian, who started a lab at Scripps Research in San Diego. His research won a Nobel Prize in 2021. Immediately after the Trump administration cut his lab’s funding, reports Zernike, “he had an email from China, offering to move his lab to any city, any university … with a guarantee of funding for the next 20 years.”
American talent is being recruited by other nations that see an opportunity to attract and welcome professors and graduate students away from the United States. As stated by Cole Donovan from the Biden administration, “Much of the U.S. power and influence is derived from our science and technology supremacy,” and the Trump administration is eroding this dominance.
While international students make significant economic contributions to their communities, they also enhance the educational environment of colleges for American students. The opportunity to interact with students from around the world for four years is a priceless educational experience, especially for American students who may not have had the opportunity to travel internationally.
Elon Musk began his professional career as an international student from South Africa at the University of Pennsylvania before obtaining an H-1B visa to work in the United States. Over time, Musk became an American citizen and, putting personality and politics aside, achieved great things. Another former international student from South Africa, Patrick Soon-Shiong, who went to medical school at UCLA, invented the cancer drug Abraxane to treat lung, breast and pancreatic cancers. Soon-Shiong, like thousands of immigrant students before and after him, was able to achieve great scientific discoveries in America, resulting in better medical care for millions of Americans.
Harming our medical centers of excellence and institutions of higher education will not make America great. Instead, it will diminish us as a nation and cause long-term harm to our competitive edge in medicine, science and technology, pushing the world’s best and brightest to seek other places to invest their knowledge and expertise.
Tom Zirpoli is the Laurence J. Adams Distinguished Chair in Special Education Emeritus at McDaniel College. He writes from Westminster. His column appears on Wednesdays. Email him at tzirpoli@mcdaniel.edu.
