PREPARATION ANXIETY — Colleges and universities are scrambling to anticipate how President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policies will affect them once his administration takes office. — They’re thinking about potential Day One executive orders that could impact cross-border travel or visa processing. And they’re considering potential regulations and legislation that affect everyone from international graduate researchers to undocumented students – based on prior experience from the first Trump administration’s travel bans and attempts to deport foreign students enrolled in online classes during the Covid-19 pandemic. — “It's affecting students across populations. It's affecting staff and faculty and their families. There’s multiple pressure points,” said Miriam Feldblum, executive director of the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration organization of institution leaders. “Campuses should be taking the opportunity not to panic students or individuals, but to prepare the community.” — Warnings are arriving with increasing urgency, particularly for students who might leave the country before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. — “A travel ban is likely to go into effect soon after inauguration,” Cornell University told students, faculty and staff in a recent campus message that said movement from China and India could face future restrictions. The school prodded students to carry extra documents that show their association with the institution for when they face border officers. — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology noted the presidential transition could impact staffing at embassies and consulates, and delay visa processing times in a way that affects students’ ability to return to the U.S. as planned. — The University of Massachusetts Amherst alerted its international students and scholars to “strongly consider returning to the United States prior to the presidential inauguration” if they travel abroad during winter break. — Schools are also reassuring students and faculty it is too early to know the immediate potential impact the new administration will have on immigration and visa issues. — Presidential executive orders can be issued and implemented quickly, but legislation often crawls through Congress. Government regulations require lengthy proposal, approval and implementation timelines. Boston University urged its international community to “avoid making decisions based on social media, news reports and rumors” and reiterated that not all political campaign promises get implemented. — New policies could still make it difficult for visiting students or scholars to enter the country or secure visas they need to work legally. Other fights could include attempts from federal and state lawmakers to strip funding from schools that offer in-state tuition to undocumented students – or tweak the Optional Practical Training temporary employment program for foreign students. — “There's a lot of interest, concern, anxiety and a desire to be truly prepared for how best to act when policies come,” among college leaders, Feldblum said. “They recognize that the second administration is going to be more prepared, and that we're more prepared.” IT’S MONDAY, DEC. 2. WELCOME TO MORNING EDUCATION. Donald Trump’s victory splintered the already fractured Never Trump movement into shards and further boxed out his MAGA outcasts, leaving some of his most prominent Republican critics scrambling for relevance in a reordered GOP. Reach out with tips to today’s host at jperez@politico.com and also my colleagues Becca Carballo (rcarballo@politico.com), Bianca Quilantan (bquilantan@politico.com) and Mackenzie Wilkes (mwilkes@politico.com).
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