America Will Have To Pay For Targeting Campuses

For more than a century, the US has drawn some of India's brightest minds in pursuit of world-class education.

- Frank F Islam

From BR Ambedkar, who went on to draft India's Constitution, to business titans like Mukesh Ambani and Azim Premji, American universities have helped shape generations of Indian thinkers, builders, and changemakers. Today, however, under the Trump administration's increasingly hardline immigration policies, that legacy is being threatened. The consequences of these actions could reverberate for decades to come.

In recent weeks, reports from US campuses have sent a chill through the Indian student community. Thousands of international students on F-1 visas have been detained, deported, or denied re-entry for seemingly minor infractions. According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the records of more than 4,700 international students have been terminated by US Customs and Immigration Enforcement. Half of these students are estimated to be Indian nationals.

The reasons for these terminations range from immigration violations to allegations of advocating pro-Hamas positions. It appears though the majority of the cases stem from interactions with law enforcement. Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations at AILA, told CNN-News18 last week, "Many of the so-called crimes they were charged with or picked up for are things that everyday Americans wouldn't even consider crimes, and certainly not college students."

In certain instances, students were deported for traffic offences, including speeding, sometimes just five to ten miles over the limit.