Foreign Students & Brain Drain in Foggy Bottom

Letter to Ephesians: A GWU provost in Swamp’s Foggy Bottom recently bemoaned financial hit from US cutbacks on Communist Chinese & other student visas. The depth of the hit hits home to such elite US colleges who get top tuition from foreigners who often make up 25-50% of their student body.

The WSJ coverage also bemoaned the nation’s recalibrated visa program as recently announced by Sec State Marco Rubio over deepening national security concerns. The paper is particularly alarmed that US universities stand to lose $26 billion annually from lost revenues coming from students calling China & India home alone. It suggests Columbia, e.g., will lose over $900 million if foreign students lose their visas while UC Berkeley would lose $576 million. John Hopkins, UChicago, UCLA, UPenn, Cornell, Harvard, NU, Duke, MIT & Stanford are also among the biggest losers. Yet, the WSJ argues, “studies have shown” that the USA is a big loser too in terms of “lost innovation” when the visa program is not robust.

What the WSJ doesn’t address is why its alleged brain or innovation drain wasn’t replaced by American brains or how it is that Communist China has zoomed to the top of global leadership in terms of technology since an ever-larger wave of its students began flooding America’s colleges & swelling their bottom lines after the 2008 financial crisis. Did US academics cynically see the golden goose at that turning point in history others now suspect has led to a communist Trojan Horse? Other WSJ editorial content has also warned of US taxpayers indirectly subsidizing such foreign students via lucrative research grants ... And, while foreigners are generally barred from FAFSA financial aid, foreign “green card” holders are not. There are other work arounds US colleges aggressively exploit. But, is it asking too much to know who’s getting educated here, from where & to what end?

Davd Soul