Foreign students dey worried as US Universities warn on Trump immigration plan

Universities for di United States of America don dey send email give dia international students and staff wit advice say make dem return to campus bifor President-elect Donald Trump go take office for January 2025.

Dis warning dey come sake of di concern ova Trump plan for mass deportation wey go affect plenti foreign nationals.

Donald Trump get plans to fulfil im campaign pledge to deport millions of immigrants wey dey live for US witout permission and dis go include some foreign students wey dey study for di kontri.

According to US president-elect, e wan do di largest deportation operation for di history of di kontri and e plan to use di military to help carry out di operation.

One professor Chloe East from di University of Colorado Denver tell BBC say "all international students dey worried right now."

Howeva, data from di Higher Ed Immigration Portal say more dan 400,000 undocumented students dey enrolled for di US higher education.

Di ogbonge professor wey follow BBC tok add say plenti students don alreadi dey stressed now and dem dey concerned about dia visas.

Many of di students dey worried if dem go fit kontinue dia education as Trump dey takeova for January sake of im deportation plans.

"Students dey overwhelmed and stressed out right now as a result of di unsure situations around immigration," Prof East tok to di BBC.

"A lot of students get concerns about dia visas and weda dem go dey allowed to kontinue dia education."

Meanwhile, Trump don alreadi put border tsar Tom Homan for im administration so e go fit throway violent criminals and pipo wey dey threaten dia national security.

Donald Trump no be strange face for di White House as dis go be im second time for di US as president.

But again, dis no be di first time wey Trump go wan implement immigration policy and even announce ban on student visas.

For im first week for di White House in 2017, Trump sign one executive order wey ban nationals of several Muslim-based nations, as well as North Korea and Venezuela, from visiting di US.

Even during im first presidency, e also propose some limitations on student visas.

Dis na part of wetin dey make several students fear di future of dia education for US if Trump enta office.

Which universities don send warnings give dia students?

For November, di University of Massachusetts issue travel advisory give dia international students and faculty.

Di university dey encourage dem to "strongly consider" how dem go return to campus from winter break bifor Trump take office on 20 January 2025.

"Based on previous experience wit travel bans wey dey enacted for di first Trump Administration in 2016, di Office of Global Affairs dey make dis advisory out of an abundance of caution," di college tok.

Also, di Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wesleyan University don also issue dia own travel advisories.

Di advice na say make students and staff return to di US before inauguration day.

For Yale University, di Office of International Students and Scholars bin host a webinar dis month to get concerns from students about potential immigration policy shifts, dis na according to di student newspaper report.

Dis dey also include foreign-born students wey dey protected by di Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) policy.

'Students cry out'

Students from kontris like Asia, particularly China, dey feel "unsure" about US-China relations under Trump.

One international student from Japan wey dey study for Earlham College for Indiana, Aoi Maeda, dey among does wey dey seriously concerned about her academic future.

"I dey plan to graduate for May 2026, but now wey di administration go dey a little bit more dangerous, I dey less hopeful say tins go go well," she tok.

Maeda say Trump dey claim say e only dey interested in keeping illegal immigrants out of di kontri, 'but e dey also try to move di goal post a lot of times'.

"I feel like us international students wit visa fit get affected, and e go become easier to deport us."

Meanwhile, Trump don attempt to end di Obama-era programme, wey dey cover ova half a million migrants wey come to di US as children from deportation.

How many undocumented immigrants dey US?

According to di latest Department of Homeland Security and Pew Research data, e show say as of 2022, around 11 million undocumented immigrants dey for US - around 3.3% of di population.

Di number don remain somehow stable since 2005, although Pew don draw ear say some kain factors still fit no dey show for di official data, like di 500,000 migrants wey dem give humanitarian permits from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua.

Most undocumented immigrants na long-term residents - nearly 80% don dey di kontri for more dan ten years - and almost half na from Mexico, followed by Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Dem concentrate for six states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois.

Mass deportations don happun bifor?

During di four years of Trump first term, about 1.5 million pipo na im dem deport and Biden administration dey on track to match dis number.

During Obama two terms, more dan three million pipo na im dem deport. Dis one give am di nickname "deporter-in-chief" among some immigration reform advocates.

But maybe di closest historical example of mass deportation happun for 1954, wen dem deport up to 1.3 million pipo for Operation Wetback, wey dem name afta one abusive word wey dem bin dey mostly use against Mexico pipo.

Dis programme bin face public opposition - partly becos dem bin also deport some US citizens - and funding issues. E mostly end by 1955.

However, immigration experts say dis operation no dey directly comparable to modern deportation efforts, as e bin lack due process and mainly target single men from Mexico, instead of families wey come from distant kontris.