March 19, 2026: This Week in International Student News
- Carrie Circosta
- 4 days ago
- 9 min read
If you're in Ohio...or a nearby state...did you feel that?
I'm in Ohio, but somehow I missed it.
Apparently, a 7-ton giant fireball meteor streaked across the sky...and then exploded over a neighborhood in Cleveland....releasing the same as 250 tons of TNT.
I guess I was so enthralled with this week's headlines I wasn't paying attention...but reply and let me know if you heard the BOOM!
Speaking of explosions...catch any of the headlines this week? Let's get caught up, shall we?
📰 Top Headlines: Trump's $100K H-1B fee is backfiring and costing the government millions, Indiana doubles down on international student restrictions with a new law, and Florida escalates...again...as students across the state push back.
🔍 Interesting Find: A moving personal essay from a PhD student at UC Santa Barbara on what it means to choose a country — and what happens when that country stops choosing you back.
🎓 Featured Scholarship Resource: A roundup of scholarship databases specifically built for international students — bookmark this one.
⚡ Immigration Corner Deep Dive: I'm tracking every state that has passed or is considering legislation restricting international students. Plus, next week I'll be covering the states that are pushing back and trying to protect international students.
You ready? Let's do this!
Carrie at International Student Voice ⭐
Best Links for International Students
📰 TOP 3 HEADLINES FROM THE WEEK
💼 Filing States Trump's $100,000 H-1B Fee Is Backfiring
President Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee — introduced to prioritize American workers over foreign labor — has actually cost the federal government nearly $20 million, after new external applications dropped by 87%, according to a court filing from a Department of Homeland Security official. While the government collected $8.5 million in new fee payments since the policy took effect, that figure was far outweighed by the sharp decline in applications, cutting into the revenue USCIS relies on to function. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has since introduced legislation to exempt healthcare workers from the fee entirely, warning that hospitals and community health centers — already facing severe workforce shortages — simply cannot absorb a $100,000 price tag on new immigrant workers. (Newsweek)
🏛️ Indiana Doubles Down on International Student Restrictions
Indiana's public colleges and universities may no longer admit students from countries designated as "adversarial" to certain STEM programs without first reviewing each student for security concerns or foreign influence — the latest in a wave of restrictions that have already pushed international enrollment down more than 14% at the state's two largest public university systems this year. Experts warn the move could strain university budgets already squeezed by state funding cuts. On top of the enrollment restrictions, Governor Mike Braun signed Senate Enrolled Act 76 on March 5, prohibiting universities from limiting local, state, or federal immigration enforcement. Advocates worry the new law will create a "culture of fear" on campuses, with international students potentially becoming overly compliant with anyone claiming to be a federal immigration officer — even those who may be falsely claiming that authority. (Axios Indianapolis | Indiana Daily Student)
🌴 Florida Update: Students Push Back as the Sunshine State Doubles Down
Well...that's awkward. An original draft of Florida's now-passed domestic terrorism bill included language that would have required public universities to report international students who "promote" any foreign terrorist organization directly to ICE through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program — language that originated in Governor DeSantis' own office, though it was ultimately left out of the filed bill in favor of provisions expelling students who promote "terrorist" organizations. Meanwhile, students at Florida A&M University staged protests against their campus's 287(g) agreement with ICE — saying they were afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation and visa revocation. At the University of South Florida, around 25 students rallied against both the H-1B hiring freeze and their campus police department's ICE collaboration — pointedly noting that USF's own new president was previously an H-1B visa recipient himself. Across Florida, a growing coalition of students from multiple campuses is organizing together, though pushback is already underway — Florida State University suspended its Students for a Democratic Society chapter for two years following its opposition to the ICE agreements on campus. (Naples Daily News | Capital B News| Fight Back News)
🎓 FEATURED SCHOLARSHIP
eduPASS has compiled a comprehensive list of scholarships specifically for international students, covering everything from undergraduate funding to MBA opportunities, with options for women, students from developing countries, country-specific scholarships, and searchable databases through platforms like Fastweb and the College Board. (eduPASS)
🔍 INTERESTING FIND
Opinion Piece: The University of California is Abandoning International Students
A PhD student from Mexico studying Plato at UC Santa Barbara writes on immigration, philosophy, and what it means to choose a country — and what it means when that country stops choosing you back. He was one of thousands of UC student workers who delivered a 13,000-signature petition to university chancellors demanding protection for international students; he spoke into a megaphone outside a closed chancellor's door. He stays, he says, because he still believes workers can transform the university — but the university needs to decide if it believes that too. (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
News in 1 Sentence
NYU announced it will offer free emergency summer housing and meal plan grants for international students who are unable to travel or return home due to safety concerns.
Iowa's H-1B bill restricting public universities from hiring visa holders from countries designated as "foreign adversaries" has now passed the full House 68-27 and cleared a Senate committee — putting it just one floor vote and a governor's signature away from becoming law.
A Lunar New Year post on USC's official Instagram account drew more than 1,200 comments and significant backlash from Chinese students who felt the post erased the holiday's Chinese origins by featuring Korean performers and omitting any mention of China — even as USC defended its use of "Lunar New Year" as an inclusive term.
Twenty of the top 30 U.S. business schools enrolled fewer international students in fall 2025 than the year before, with admissions teams pointing directly to the Trump administration's three-week suspension of visa interviews as the moment their carefully assembled MBA classes began to unravel.
Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian woman detained for a year in a Texas immigration facility after participating in Gaza war protests at Columbia University, has been released on $100,000 bail after an immigration judge described the government's arguments against her release as "disingenuous" — though DHS says it will continue to fight for her removal, and her case is ongoing.
Four immigrant airport workers and their union sued the federal government after CBP revoked the security credentials needed to work in restricted areas of Logan Airport, affecting at least 80 workers with valid work authorization under a newly narrowed interpretation of "authorized residency" — with similar revocations reported at airports in New York, San Francisco, Houston, and Orlando.
Georgia's international students contributed more than $1 billion to the state's economy for the second straight year — but with F-1 visa issuances down 36% nationally last summer and NAFSA projecting a 17% drop in new enrollment, analysts warn that Georgia could lose $27.1 million in revenue and more than 9,000 jobs if the trend continues.
DEEP DIVE: IMMIGRATION CORNER 🛂
State Restrictions - Where Things Stand...
(For Now)
A few weeks ago, I did a full deep dive on Florida and the wave of legislation, executive action, and ICE agreements reshaping the state's relationship with international students. If you missed it, you can read it here.
But as you can tell from this week's newsletter — Florida is not alone.
More states are making headlines with their own bills, executive actions, and policy changes targeting international students and foreign faculty at public universities. It's happening fast, and it can be hard to keep track of.
So this week, I'm putting it all in one place.
Here's where things stand — for now.
Florida
Florida seems to be the most aggressive state in the country when it comes to restricting international students and foreign faculty, and this week brought even more headlines.
The Board of Governors voted to freeze H-1B hiring at all Florida public universities through the end of 2026.
An enrollment cap bill passed the Florida House 84-25, which would limit non-U.S. citizens to just 5% of fall enrollment at preeminent research universities — though it has yet to move in the Senate.
More than 15 Florida campuses have signed 287(g) agreements allowing campus police to be trained as immigration enforcement agents.
And a draft bill originating from Governor DeSantis' own office included language that would have required universities to report international students who "promote" foreign terrorist organizations directly to ICE (it was removed from the final bill).
This week, students pushed back. Protests erupted at Florida A&M, Florida International University, and the University of South Florida — and Florida State University responded by suspending its Students for a Democratic Society chapter for two years for opposing the ICE agreements.
For the full breakdown of Florida's earlier actions, read the March 5 deep dive here.
Indiana
Indiana seemed to move quickly — and quietly.
On March 5, Governor Mike Braun signed Senate Enrolled Act 76 into law, making Indiana one of the first states to formally codify restrictions on international students and immigration enforcement cooperation into statute.
The law prohibits public universities from limiting cooperation with local, state, or federal immigration enforcement — and makes it illegal for universities to knowingly employ undocumented immigrants, with civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation.
On top of that, Indiana's public universities are now restricted from admitting students from countries designated as "foreign adversaries" to certain STEM programs without first conducting individual security reviews.
Iowa
A bill that would bar public universities from hiring H-1B visa holders from countries designated as "foreign adversaries" — China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, and Syria — passed the full House 68-27 and has already cleared a Senate committee. It is now one floor vote and a governor's signature away from becoming law.
If passed, the bill would affect more than 400 students and educators currently employed across Iowa's public university system.
It is one of the most direct attacks yet on the H-1B visa pipeline that feeds international talent into American research institutions — and it could be on the books within weeks.
Texas
In January 2026, Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive directive freezing all new H-1B petitions at public universities and state agencies through May 2027 — and requiring detailed reporting on every current H-1B holder employed across the state's public institutions.
No legislative process. No committee hearings. No floor votes. Done by executive order alone.
This is an important reminder that not all of these restrictions require a bill to pass — in some states, a governor's pen is all it takes.
Idaho
Idaho has a bill under consideration that would cap the percentage of athletic scholarships that can go to international students at public universities.
While this may sound like a narrow restriction, it reflects a broader political mood — and it's worth watching. The bill is still in early stages, but Idaho's track record on immigration-related legislation suggests it could move quickly.
Ohio
Ohio is considering a nearly identical bill as Idaho’s that would cap athletic scholarships for international students.
Like Idaho, it is still under consideration — but the fact that multiple states are moving in the same direction on this specific issue signals a coordinated effort worth paying attention to.
Recommended reading/watching:
At the time of the interview, he had received a full-ride scholarship to a public university in Ohio.
Oklahoma
Of all the state proposals currently on the table, Oklahoma's is the most far-reaching.
Lawmakers there are considering a bill that would ban public institutions from awarding any scholarships to noncitizens — full stop.
Not just athletic scholarships. Not just students from specific countries. Any scholarship. Any noncitizen.
If passed, this would be one of the most aggressive restrictions on international students in the country. It is still under consideration, but the fact that it has been introduced at all is significant.
What This Means for International Students
Things are moving fast. Some of what you just read was not on anyone's radar 60 days ago.
But what’s important to keep in mind: immigration is ultimately a federal matter.
States cannot change your visa status, revoke your immigration standing, or deport you — that authority belongs to the federal government.
But states do have power over certain things within their borders: who gets hired at public universities, who receives state-funded scholarships, how campus police interact with federal immigration enforcement, and who gets admitted to certain programs at public institutions.
That means these policies can absolutely affect your ability to study, work, and remain at certain schools — even if your federal immigration status is unchanged.
If you have questions or concerns about what's happening in your state, talk to your DSO. They are your first and best resource for understanding how state-level changes may affect your specific situation.
And, of course, keep reading this newsletter — I’m tracking this, week by week, as it develops.
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Disclaimer: International Student Voice is not an immigration attorney or immigration advisor. The purpose of this newsletter is strictly educational. Always consult with qualified legal counsel for advice specific to your situation.