President-elect Donald Trump's reelection has raised concerns among international students about potential changes to immigration policies and visa approvals, making them "overwhelmed and stressed" according to a professor and multiple students.
The Higher Ed Immigration Portal says more than 400,000 undocumented students are currently enrolled in higher education across the United States, and some students fear they won't be able to return to the country, as Trump has promised to launch the largest mass deportation in American history to tackle illegal migration from Day One of his presidency.
University of Colorado Denver professor Chloe East told BBC News: "All international students are worried right now. Students are incredibly overwhelmed and stressed out right now as a result of the uncertainty around immigration.
"A lot of students have concerns about their visas and whether they'll be allowed to continue their education."
Newsweek has contacted Trump's transition team for comment.
Emphasizing Trump's policy, Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition Spokesperson told Newsweek on November 18: "President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history."
Yale's student newspaper reflects international students' anxieties in a focus on the issue, and Donghyung Lee, a scholar from South Korea at the Divinity School, told the Yale Daily News: "I don't know about very specific policies, but my general impression is that the Trump government will be strict about immigrants and international students."
"One thing I'm sure about is that I'm feeling quite anxious."
Tajrian Khan, a sophomore from Dhaka, Bangladesh, told the paper: "I think the worst part would be the Supreme Court. That will just give Trump's deportation campaign more validity because his court [will have] approved it."
But Vicky Cantú, from Mexico City, told the paper: "There is no clear way for the law to determine who are the good immigrants and who are the bad immigrants. I don't think he [Trump] could do what he wants without breaking families apart, which is not a good look for Republicans."
The University of Massachusetts issued a travel advisory in November, urging its international students and faculty to "strongly consider" returning to campus from winter break before Trump returns to the White House on January 20.
"Given that a new presidential administration can enact new policies on their first day in office (January 20), and based on previous experience with travel bans that were enacted in the first Trump Administration in 2016, the Office of Global Affairs is making this advisory out of an abundance of caution to hopefully prevent any possible travel disruption to members of our international community," the statement read.
During his first presidency, Trump proposed restrictions on student visas and, during his first week in the White House in 2017, signed an executive order banning nationals from several predominantly Muslim countries, as well as North Korea and Venezuela, from entering the United States.
Trump has picked a trio of hard-liners for key posts to shape the future of U.S. immigration policy.
As part of the push, Tom Homan and Stephen Miller are expected to take up posts in Trump's White House, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is set to be the nation's next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Homan, who served as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the Trump administration, has been nominated for the role of "border czar." He has called on undocumented immigrants to voluntarily leave the country and has vowed to dismantle criminal gangs operating in the U.S.
One of Trump's senior advisers, Miller, will become Deputy Chief of Staff, helping to influence policy, including immigration. During the 2017-2021 administration, Miller was one of the key architects of Trump's travel ban and other controversial policies targeting immigrants and was a regular target of criticism and backlash for his policies and statements.
Trump has said he will use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport foreign nationals deemed hostile to the United States, to expedite the removal of known gang or cartel members.
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