USC warns international students to return from holiday break before Trump takes office
The University of Southern California issued a warning to its international students to return from holiday break before President-elect Donald Trump starts his second term.
USC sent the letter to its roughly 17,000 international students as a precaution, noting that Trump's possible executive orders following his Jan. 20 inauguration could complicate their re-entry.
"I think it was definitely a scary reality," international student Pragya Bhatta said.
Bhatta, who is from India and Amber Hoddle, who is from Australia both got the warning. They said the warning from the university to come back before the new administration takes office was sobering.
"I was just shocked," Hoddle said. "I didn't think it was going to affect me at all. I assumed because I've already worked out a lot of my immigration stuff before coming here I assumed it wouldn't really change. The fact that I got that letter it made me nervous. I immediately texted my parents."
The letter states that it is unclear what, if any, executive orders might come down once Trump retakes the White House but implores students to avoid any issues by coming back to the US sooner rather than later. It also lays out which documents they should have on hand. The warning comes in the wake of Trump's promise of mass deportations of people who are here illegally.
"This is new territory," immigration attorney Eric Lee said. "The students who are on an F or J Visa, you need to get back to the United States as quickly as possible. It's going to be a lot harder than the students may realize to challenge, legally, actions that result in their being excluded physically from the territoriality of the United States."
Bhatta and Hoddle said their documents are all in order and they plan to return before Trump takes office. However, they know others who are having to change their plans.
"I have friends who pushed their flights back a couple of weeks, which means they're cutting down on time with family," Bhatta said. "There's a lot of things happening that I didn't think would affect me as quickly as it is and it's for sure very unsettling."
