It was only a matter of time before President Donald Trump would change his position on providing study visas to 600,000 college students from China. A true populist, Trump actually listens and responds to his constituents when he puts out an idea that meets with exceptional resistance. While it is unclear who actually liked his idea of allowing these students into the nation (besides Chinese leadership), it was instantly apparent that most Americans hated it and felt betrayed by it.
And for good reason. As conservative writer and podcaster Auron MacIntyre recently laid out at The Blaze, there was essentially no upside to importing so many students from America’s global rival. First, it would further facilitate the rampant espionage that’s taken place from Chinese students relaying critical information about American universities’ research and new technology to the Chinese government. According to commentator Eric Weinstein, this problem is already so bad that “universities slow their own programs for fear that breakthroughs will be stolen by foreign students.” This ironically contradicts the contention that bringing these students in boosts American research and development.
Far from the U.S. poaching China’s best and brightest, MacIntyre points out that most of these students return to China to help them (not us) become great again, and the ones who choose to stay here take positions that would otherwise go to Americans:
A Chinese student who returns home brings knowledge and prestige that strengthen a rival nation. One who stays uses that same credential to climb into elite corporations or agencies that shape American culture, policy, and economy.
College Ghost Towns
An even more obvious problem with giving student visas to over half a million Chinese is the number itself. Poll after poll show that Americans want to reduce the number of both illegal and legal immigrants. MacIntyre notes that “there are 55 million active visa holders eligible to enter the United States — a number equal to the combined populations of Florida and Texas.” Not only does this massive number of people strain government budgets, it also ratchets up demand for jobs, housing, and consumer goods, making American citizens noticeably poorer and less economically mobile.
The fourth problem that arises deserves more attention than it is receiving, which is the notion of using foreign students to prop up failing universities. Both Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik warned that many colleges would go broke if these Chinese students did not attend them. Although most conservatives, including McIntyre, believe this would be a well-deserved blow to leftist institutions that have brainwashed and bankrupted so many students, Trump believes it would affect smaller universities which might not deserve that.
Of course, the fact that these smaller colleges are in a more precarious financial position doesn’t mean they are somehow entitled to have many thousands of Chinese students doubling as spies attend their schools and pay full tuition. If this is really the way they’re staying open, then they deserve to fail.
If one is to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, it may be that he is trying to signal to everyone that the American university system is in serious crisis and on the brink of imploding entirely. This is happening for many reasons, but it’s mostly due falling enrollment caused by the falling American birthrate. Most universities simply don’t have enough potential incoming 18-year-olds to continue operating at their current capacity. Thus, even if colleges cut their budgets and do everything right, they will still need to shut down. A study by the Federal Reserve last year indicated that “up to 80 colleges may close in the next five years,” which would follow the closing of over a hundred colleges from the past eight years, according to the College Fix.
True, this is poetic justice for those leftist institutions that fleeced students in return for useless degrees and crushing debt. Nevertheless, this is bad news for the surrounding communities that depend on these colleges as a major employer and driver of local business. The closures would easily hollow out a large number of college towns.
Reforms
This outcome is likely what worries Trump most of all. He also probably realizes that, short of summoning hundreds of thousands of students out of thin air (or the People’s Republic of China), he will not be able to save the majority of these college towns. All across the country, the American population is aging, and there are not enough students to go around.
Even so, he can at least save some of the schools — and maybe reform higher education in the process. For colleges needing a bailout, Trump’s administration now has the leverage to make some demands.
Ending DEI and leftist agitation, as Trump has already requested, would be only the beginning. Struggling universities should also improve their services and better equip their students for citizenship and a career. Naturally, this would mean offering more coursework that teaches the hard skills currently in demand, as well as raising academic rigor across the board through frequent objective assessments and comprehensive final exams. In short, colleges need to start giving incoming students something for their money by teaching useful skills and challenging them.
All the same, even if the Trump administration can bring about this reform, Americans need to accept the sad truth that many universities and colleges will close down in the coming decade. The golden age of higher education has passed, having peaked with the Millennial generation who attended college in droves after being subjected to a dozen years of propaganda in American public schools. The Zoomers are a smaller cohort and have a much more practical view of college, and the Alphas coming after them even more so.
In some ways, this could be a good thing in the long run. While a forced contraction of the university system might not foster a veritable renaissance in higher learning, it will finally set today’s dysfunctional colleges upon a solid, sustainable course. It’s long past due for these institutions to live up to their promises. Revitalizing the nation and lifting the fortunes of American (not Chinese) young adults will require nothing less.
Auguste Meyrat is an English teacher and freelance writer in the Dallas area. He is the founding editor of The Everyman, a senior contributor to The Federalist, and has written for essays for The Stream, The Blaze, Chronicles, and elsewhere. He is also the host of The Everyman Commentary Podcast. Follow him on X.
