International students at Northwestern University are pressing President Mung Chiang to publicly address federal immigration policy changes that have upended their internship and employment prospects.
Students described frustration with what they see as a lack of direct communication from Chiang, who took office July 1 as Northwestern's 18th president, The Daily Northwestern reported on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
"To be really, really honest with you, now knowing this, I feel like I don't have support," Luiza Lima, a Weinberg junior from Brazil, told The Daily Northwestern.
Lima said she chose Northwestern for its proximity to Chicago and its professional network. She said she does not see Chiang being communicative about issues that matter to international students.
The pressure comes as two federal policy shifts squeeze international students' options. Northwestern announced Aug. 25 that it would stop approving Curricular Practical Training (CPT) requests unless the work is required for a student's degree. CPT allows F-1 visa holders to take internships and co-ops classified as part of their academic program. The hold followed federal guidance tightening CPT eligibility criteria. Programs affected include the Chicago Field Studies program, the Medill Journalism Residency and Kellogg experiential learning courses.
Four higher education associations filed a federal lawsuit on Monday, Oct. 5, challenging the federal CPT guidance as a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, arguing the government abruptly reversed a 35-year-old interpretation of the rules.
Then on Wednesday, Oct. 7, the Department of Homeland Security proposed charging schools $70,000 per international student seeking initial Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization, the post-graduation work program. A subsequent OPT recommendation, including STEM extensions, would carry a $30,000 fee. Under the current system, students pay about $520 to apply. The proposal was open for public comment through Nov. 9.
The impact could be severe. A survey by the Institute for Progress found 80% fewer international students said they would try to stay and work in the United States if the proposed fees took effect. Among STEM students, only 15% said they would likely try to stay.
Sean Tey, a McCormick first-year from Singapore, told The Daily Northwestern that Northwestern's Office of International Student and Scholar Services (OISS) has reported policy updates promptly. But he said the CPT uncertainty has complicated internship planning. In his first days on campus, he discovered many opportunities may no longer be available to international students.
Medill junior Junseo Lee said the university could do more to preserve internship access. He pointed to the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business as a model, noting its courses contribute to a work-experience requirement that can help qualify students for CPT. Lee said he asked a Medill adviser whether a Journalism Residency could replace an internship for CPT purposes but received no definitive answer.
Northwestern's Undergraduate International Student Advancement Council sent a letter to OISS and Provost Erik Luijten in late August asking the university to narrow the CPT hold to individualized review, publish a decision-making timeline and release written criteria students could share with employers.
OISS said in an email to F-1 students that it was exploring options for compliant work experiences in future terms but offered no timeline.
The Faculty Senate added its voice on Sept. 30, voting 61-3 with two abstentions to approve a resolution calling on university leadership to bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officers from non-public campus spaces without a judicial warrant, provide Know Your Rights trainings and protect student and staff records. The resolution stated that Northwestern "has yet to provide substantive guidance on this issue of continuing importance to the safety of members of our community."
