Ruiyan Wang

By February of President Donald Trump’s first term in office in 2017, former Yale President Peter Salovey had already issued four statements voicing support for Yale’s immigrant and international community in response to Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. In one, he called for a “swift reversal of these measures that undermine our university’s—and our nation’s—core values.”

In the first weeks of Trump’s second term, the University has not publicly addressed new executive orders about immigration. President Maurie McInnis has released two messages on evolving federal policy, both about threats to Yale’s funding, and has generally refrained from issuing statements.

The main contact point for Yale’s immigrant and international students and scholars is the Office of International Students & Scholars which helps community members obtain and maintain visas and navigate extended immigration possibilities. OISS director Ozan Say told the News that instead of initiating a broader response, his approach is to wait until the impacts of specific policies are clear to address them.

“If you start worrying about all the worst things that can happen, I think that might incapacitate us,” Say said. “Let’s deal things with what we know.”

Say said that the effect of Trump’s immigration orders on international students and scholars is likely to be small and not immediate. Instead, administrators and students told the News that the biggest issue facing parts of Yale’s community is anti-immigrant sentiment the orders may provoke.

Muted University messaging

In total, Salovey issued 12 statements about immigration law over the course of Trump’s first term.

In a January interview, McInnis said she understands that international students and scholars may have “fears or concerns or questions,” and that OISS is handling communication about immigration policy changes. Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis also directed those with concerns to Say and OISS.

McInnis said she has not yet made a statement about immigration because “we’re in a different place with what [Trump’s] pronouncements were in term one to what has been said as of this moment.” Say said that he thinks Yale has not made a statement because “Yale is now at a different place in terms of how we make statements.”

In October, McInnis solicited and adopted a faculty report on Yale’s use of institutional voice. The report recommended that administrators refrain from commenting on issues of public significance when they do not involve Yale.

Say said that whether University leadership issues a statement on immigration will not greatly affect his work.

“I’m sure there will be people who will find [a statement] helpful, and some people are probably content that OISS is doing the outreach, and we’re in touch with them,” he said.

One week after the 2016 presidential election, Salovey sent a message to the Yale community acknowledging that “many in our community are worried about potential changes in immigration laws,” and stating that he is working to ensure the “safety and well-being” of international students and scholars on campus.

He also condemned Trump’s travel ban on majority-Muslim countries and the executive order that rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, policy. He even penned a public letter to Trump defending DACA.

In his statements on DACA and the travel ban, Salovey outlined University resources for international and undocumented students. The travel ban prompted OISS outreach to students from the seven implicated countries and open meetings for the Yale community about the ban’s impact, according to Salovey’s January 2017 statement. 

Salovey’s statement on DACA, published in September 2017, offered legal support to undocumented students, affirmed Yale’s commitment to admitting students and offering financial aid regardless of immigration status and clarified that Yale Police officers do not ask students about their citizenship status. Salovey also noted that the University would not permit outside law enforcement officers to access campus if they did not have a search warrant or other legal authorization.

“[McInnis] has not even confirmed that the University continues to follow the policies that it has for many years,” Michael Wishnie ’87 LAW ’93, an immigration attorney and professor at Yale Law School, told the News. “That silence has a real price for impacted students, families and staff.”

Wishnie added that McInnis was “urged to confirm [Salovey’s] policies” by faculty in Yale’s newly-revived chapter of the American Association of University Professors but “declined to do so.” 

He emphasized his own hope that McInnis would not only affirm Salovey’s commitment to undocumented students but also extend that support, including the promise of immigration representation, to affected staff.

Tajrian Khan ’27, an international student from Bangladesh, also said he would like to see more structured communication from University leaders.

“I feel like our professors, our administrators, our heads of colleges, deans, especially the president and the dean of Yale College — they have responsibility to take a moral stand against what’s going on because these people are highly educated,” he said. “They’re the leading researchers and scholars in their fields, and what they say really matters to not just us, but to other people in America and everywhere else. And when it comes to OISS, I feel like they also haven’t addressed it in that structured way.”

The OISS approach

After Trump’s inauguration, OISS created a webpage to track new policies affecting immigration and their potential impacts. Above everything else on the page, highlighted in a neon yellow box, is advice on how to respond to requests from immigration enforcement officers. Below, the site lists five of Trump’s first-day executive orders and four resources that explain the actions.

OISS is not conducting systematic individual outreach in light of Trump’s immigration policy.

“I’m sure there will be things that we didn’t foresee and will surprise us entirely when it comes out,” Say explained. “Definitely, those things will happen, but it’s been only three weeks. This is a marathon, so I think we need to pace ourselves.”

International students and scholars can also reach out to their assigned advisors if they have concerns, who will walk them through a “risk assessment” for situations such as whether to travel over breaks.

Over winter break, schools across the country issued guidance advising their international students to return early, before Trump’s inauguration. OISS did not, instead telling students that given uncertainty surrounding Trump’s plans, they should each “assess [their] risk tolerance and decide accordingly.”

On Wednesday, OISS issued travel advice for the upcoming spring break, directing students to the new webpage and once again telling students to assess their own risk level. “Although it is possible that new executive orders that impact your ability to re-enter the U.S. could be issued, we do not know what the scope of these orders might be,” the advice reads.

Say and his colleagues worried that telling international students to return early from winter break or limit travel over spring break would come across as alarmist.

“We decided not to go that route, because, actually, as we found out, that didn’t materialize. Since we do not know a lot of the things, I’m kind of hesitant,” Say said.

Decisions like this one, which carry potential political ramifications, are made by OISS in consultation with its managing office, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the General Counsel, Say said.

OISS also has a “very close relationship” with Yale’s Office of Federal and State Relations, through which it advocates for immigration reform in Washington, according to Say. He said the office has advocated for issues including reducing visa processing times and granting green cards to graduate students when they complete their education.

Say said that he is aware that Trump’s policies have caused anxiety and confusion among some immigrant and international students and scholars, and that OISS advisors attempt to address these concerns in individual conversations with advisees.

“We always try to talk to people, because from our perspective, we can’t provide direct guidance until we know what exactly is happening,” Say said.

Effect on international and immigrant community

Say believes the impact on Yale’s international community is likely to be small, and not necessarily more pronounced under Trump than under past presidents. 

Yale’s international population consists of students and scholars on F-1, J-1 and H-1B visas, according to Say. F-1 visas permit foreign students to attend U.S. universities, high schools and other academic institutions, while J-1 visas cover foreign visitors involved in teaching and research programs. Visitors with highly specialized knowledge can enter the U.S. on H-1B visas.

Though Trump also took an aggressive anti-immigrant bent during his first term, his policies zeroed in on undocumented immigrants, rather than programs that permitted legal immigration. Visa approval rates were consistent across the board; for example, F-1 visa approval rates dipped slightly in 2017 and 2018 and shot back up in 2019.

Since Trump’s re-inauguration, his main executive order targeting legal immigration has called for enhanced vetting during visa application processes. A similar executive order during Trump’s first term heightened wait times for visas.

Not all of Yale’s international students and scholars will be affected by these processing delays, Say said. He added that the executive order’s effect would “probably be the same” on all of Yale’s international population, though he acknowledged that future executive orders could target specific countries or visa types. 

Part of the executive order requires the secretary of state, the attorney general, the secretary of homeland security and the director of national intelligence to identify countries with “deficient” vetting and screening processes, which could lead to travel bans targeting those countries. Say declined to name any countries that are especially vulnerable to a travel ban.

Khan said that when he talked to his OISS advisor, he was told that he as a Yale student would likely not be affected by Trump’s policies.

Another Trump executive order urges universities to “monitor” international students who participated in pro-Palestine protests.

“I feel like that has impacted activism for many different causes across college campuses, and that is something that we know is clearly unconstitutional,” Khan said.

Say added that often, executive orders are announced and quickly struck down in court or revoked, so OISS opts to wait for the dust to settle when policy changes are announced. 

Those most vulnerable to the executive orders are undocumented immigrants, especially with the Trump administration’s promise to no longer consider churches and schools — historically places of sanctuary for undocumented immigrants — off-limits to federal immigration authorities. Say declined to comment on the record about Yale’s undocumented community.

International students make up 30 percent of Yale’s student body.