This letter was submitted on April 17, 2025.

Dear International Students and Colleagues:

We are writing to tell you we see you; we value you, and when you are gone, we feel your absence. We are also writing to tell the government people cannot silently disappear. The United States is fortunate to host over one million international students. You brighten our classrooms with your perspectives, open your peers’ eyes to cultures across the globe, and return to your countries to contribute to education, engineering, medicine, business, and sustainable development. You are drawn to the US largely by the promise of training in one of the highest quality education systems in the world. This reputation is being threatened right now as the presidential administration blackmails universities to relinquish their academic freedom. For those who are concerned about the bottom line, they should be aware that you, our international students, contributed roughly 50 billion USD to the US economy last year. (1)

To our international colleagues, your camaraderie, admirable work ethic, and enriching collaborations bring vibrancy and innovation to our universities. Your perspective in the classroom inspires our students to explore. Your creativity in research has pushed the boundaries of science across the globe. Of the United States’ 420 Nobel Laureates, 117 (over one quarter!) were born outside of the US. You will not silently disappear.

We are calling upon the presidential administration to halt and reverse the cancelling of student and work visas. We are asking you to respect the immense sacrifices and contributions of our international students and colleagues and to honor the agreements the government has already made with these visa holders. Everything we have built in the United States, from institutions to infrastructure, stems from our diversity and openness as a nation. Our democracy is a work in progress, only truly existing since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and we need to nurture and protect it. We can do so by being true to the simple phrase, ‘Liberty and justice for All.’ We exist as a nation because of the steadfast Native Americans and the courageous immigrants who came (willingly or unwillingly) before us–diversity. Let us continue to embrace the many viewpoints, the vibrancy of free speech, and the open doors of our universities. It is this openness that enables us to develop the knowledge that makes the United States a leader in innovation and development.

Thank you to our students and our colleagues who chose to come to the United States to learn and to contribute. Thank you for the example of hard work, independence, and dedication you share with us. Thank you for your opinions, your knowledge, and your courage. You will not silently disappear.

A petition to support international students and faculty can be found here. 

1: Data in this paragraph are from the Institute of International Education (https://www.iie.org; accessed 16 April 2025)