UC Berkeley, Stanford face risk as Trump administration targets international students

By the numbers: Of all international students studying in the U.S. during the 2023-24 school year, about 12.5% were doing so in California, 12.1% in New York and 8% in Texas.

• International students have been a major economic engine in California, contributing $6.4 billion during the 2023-2024 academic year.

The big picture: The student visa pause comes as the Trump administration has been criticizing U.S. colleges and universities for failing to crack down on what it describes as heightened antisemitism as students protest Israel's actions in Gaza.

• The State Department is considering broader vetting of student visa applicants' social media posts.
• The revocation of Chinese students' visas in particular is tied to concerns that their government is using them "to steal intellectual property on Beijing's behalf," a State Department official told Axios' Marc Caputo.

Zoom in: Bay Area universities, including UC Berkeley and Stanford, are especially exposed to the administration's crackdown.

• At the start of the 2024-25 school year, UC Berkeley had 7,355 international students, or about 16% of the campus population.
• While just 9% of Stanford's undergraduate students in the 2023-24 academic year were international, they accounted for 35% of graduate students, per the university.
• The largest share of international students from both universities were of Asian descent, with UC Berkeley's largest representation (35.6%) coming from China.

What they're saying: The UC system is "very concerned" about the student interview visa pause and believes "it is critical that interviews resume as quickly as possible to ensure that applicants are able to go through the process and receive their visas on time so they can pursue their education," spokesperson Rachel Zaentz told Axios in a statement.

• "Our international students and scholars are vital members of our university community and contribute greatly to our research, teaching, patient care and public service mission," she added.

• Stanford University President Jon Levin wrote in a Linkedin post in late May that the U.S. has long attracted "the best and brightest students from around the world," adding that "it's self-defeating to send away young people with so much potential to contribute to the country."

Flashback: The international student population at many UCs started falling after bending to pressure from state officials that it concentrate more of its resources on state residents.

• The legislature in 2021 forced UCSD, UCLA and UC Berkeley to make a 4% cut to their international students — a decade after the schools ramped up recruiting international students and the larger tuition they pay.

Stunning stat: At UC Berkeley alone, new international student enrollees dropped by 42% last year.

What we're watching: A federal judge in May extended a temporary order blocking the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University's ability to host international students.