The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown expanded to legal citizens and even tourists in the first half of 2025, according to The New York Times. International students, with legal documentation like visas and green cards, who were participating in pro-Palestine protests were being detained or having their visas revoked.
Around the same time as the increase in deportations and detensions, at least eight University of Miami students had their visas revoked. An additional 59 faculty faculty and staff were reported to have also been affected by the new immigration policies.
These events put the international community on edge.
“Ever since the change in administration, I caught on pretty quickly that I must become as apolitical as possible in order to ensure I’d be safe,” said an anonymous international student.
Actions against international students have since slowed down, with the exception of the State Department pausing international and exchange student visa interviews over the summer.
“While the government has not done anything directed towards [international] students recently, I am still very careful with everything I do,” said another anonymous international student.
Faculty members have not had the same luck. As of September 21, companies that seek to hire international employees using the H-1B visa must now pay a $100,000 fee per worker.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the new policy “requires a $100,000 payment to accompany any new H-1B visa petitions submitted after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on Sept. 21, 2025. This includes the 2026 lottery, and any other H-1B petitions submitted after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on Sept. 21, 2025.”
The fee is a one-time expense for new H1-B petitions and does not affect renewals.
An anonymous faculty member expressed her concerns leading up to the decision. “I don’t know what I would do if my visa is affected,” she said. “I don’t have that kind of money to pay for this visa.”
While faculty and staff who already have visas and whose applications are in progress do not have to worry, the future of international employees at UM is uncertain.
The policy also brings into question the future of international students who plan to work in the United States after college.
One UM international upperclassman expressed how the new H1-B may change her post graduate plans.
“At the start of undergrad I was almost certain I wanted to work for a couple of years in the US after graduation,” she said. “Now that balance has shifted to more 50/50 between [staying in the US] and going back home or pursuing opportunities in a more friendly foreign climate.”
The University of Miami did not respond to a request for comment.