Dear Erica,
Seems each week I have something to say about the potential for a government shutdown! Last week I let you know Congress approved a FY2026 spending package to end a partial shutdown but that funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) still needed to be worked out before a stopgap funding measure expired. Today’s the day and it does not appear that agreement will be reached given that Congress left Washington late yesterday for another week-long recess. Recall that ICE and CBP are already funded for a number of years through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted last summer and USCIS is fee funded, so their work should not be impacted by a shutdown. This PBS story profiles which services would be affected by a DHS shutdown.
On a brighter note, NAFSA executive director and CEO, Fanta Aw spoke at a briefing organized by the Forum on Education Abroad to help convey to congressional offices that international experience is a boon for students’ career readiness and success. The Capitol Hill briefing featured the Forum’s recent research on this subject as presented by Forum president and CEO, Melissa Torres as well as stirring remarks from Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI-01) and Rep. Jefferson Shreve (R-IN-06) on their own transformative study abroad experiences. Dr. Aw joined expert voices from the business sector in rounding out the economic case for a greater investment in education abroad and the risk the U.S. runs in falling behind if we don’t. We applaud the Forum for their compelling campaign, Education Abroad as a Career Catalyst. Be sure to download and share their research.
In international student mobility news, ICEF Monitor describes the successful efforts by other countries to attract U.S. students, researchers, scientists, and other experts to their countries. ICEF also notes the growth in China’s transnational education agreements with countries other than the “Big Four,” including Russia, Italy, Germany, France, and Malaysia. That got me thinking about whether we’ll see more U.S institutions consider opening branch campuses around the world to circumvent hostile U.S. visa and immigration policies. This Inside Higher Ed opinion piece offers takeaways from the “rise, fall, and reinvention of the international branch campus."
Turning to North America, new data from Canada shows that between December 2023 and November 2025, international student enrollment fell by more than 27 percent (or almost 300,000 students). Factors contributing to this historic drop? New policies including a hard cap on foreign enrollment and new restrictions on post-study employment opportunities. This provides a cautionary tale for U.S. policy though it should be recognized that this drop follows Canada’s dramatic increase in international student enrollment.
Speaking of hostile U.S. immigration policy, we are keeping our ears to the ground for the release of the final duration of status rule. We thought it might drop early in 2026, but that was clearly not the case. To stay informed about the latest, be sure to subscribe to NAFSA’s International Student and Scholar discussion forums. You do not need to be a member of NAFSA to join.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.
Best,
Erica
Erica Stewart
Senior Director, Advocacy & Strategic Communications
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
