Macalester College offers free summer housing to international students with visa worries
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International students at Macalester College in St. Paul will be able to stay on campus for free this summer, in light of concerns over changing visa practices.
College president Suzanne Rivera said students are worried immigration rules might change, leaving them stuck abroad for the fall semester if they go home for summer break.
“Anxiety levels were really high,” Rivera said. “The best way we could assist our students was to let them know that if they didn't feel they could travel home over the summer, they wouldn’t have to take that risk.”
The college says a donor gave $250,000 to make the housing offer possible. There’s room for 65 students to stay in dorms for free, with meal plans included.
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The school said most of the students’ visas prevent them from working summer jobs.
Macalester has more than 300 international students — about 14 percent of its student body. Rivera said staff are prioritizing housing applications from international students with high financial need, but she’s anticipating the school will have funding to house all who want to stay.
With a week left before commencement, students and staff are hurrying to make housing plans. Staff are also looking to connect students who stay in the country with volunteer and internship positions.
It’s the cap to a chaotic few months, marked by federal grant cuts and sudden rule changes for international students.
“The whole semester has felt like a scramble,” Rivera said. “Since late January, we've been monitoring closely a flurry of executive orders and policy changes and other kinds of initiatives.”
The college is continuing to check all of its international students’ statuses in a federal database daily, after thousands of students across the country had their records canceled, putting their visa status at risk. The Trump administration has since reinstated most of those records to comply with judges’ orders in several states. Rivera said staff were not aware of any Macalester students who had their records canceled.
The school has also signed on to an amicus brief in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s revocation of student visas and detention of noncitizen students.
Rivera said the federal rule changes are putting a strain on colleges and universities.
“Part of the reason the U.S. higher education system is a crown jewel is because our campuses are so intentionally diverse and international, and I would hate to see that go away,” Rivera said.
Last month, President Rivera — along with more than 620 other higher education administrators — signed on to a letter denouncing the Trump administration’s interference at colleges and universities. Several other Minnesota education leaders signed on, including presidents at Minnesota State Mankato, Hamline University and St. Olaf College.