New data from a survey of more than 700 colleges and universities reveal that the number of new international students in the U.S. plunged by 43% this fall and overall enrollment of foreign students is down 16%, Melissa Korn at The Wall Street Journal reports. The numbers illustrate "just how hard colleges and universities were hit by the pandemic and a flurry of shifting directives from the Trump administration."

After tightening the criteria for international students to enter or stay in the country earlier this year, "[i]n late July, the administration updated its guidelines, saying that while new international students couldn’t come to the U.S. if their courses were being taught entirely online, those with at least one in-person class could be in the U.S., and those already here could remain."

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, saw the steep decline coming, saying the numbers are "staggering but, unfortunately, not surprising. ... Well before the pandemic struck, a climate of harsh rhetoric on immigration and concrete actions taken by the Trump administration, such as the travel ban and slower visa processing times, helped fuel the perception that this country is no longer a welcoming place for study and research for outstanding students and scholars from across the globe."

Want to hear Ted talk about these issues with leaders in the higher education system? He’ll be moderating exactly such a conversation in tomorrow’s Leading the Way session. Today’s conversations include Mexican Ambassador to the United States Martha Bárcena Coqui, International Rescue Committee CEO David Miliband, Trinity Forum President Cherie Harder, and Dr. Russell Moore, President of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Take a look at today’s sizzle reel (what a great phrase) for a sneak peak at what’s to come, and register for free!

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

$8 BILLION – Contractors in charge of building President Trump’s border wall are moving forward with construction despite the doubt that this month’s election results cast on the project, reports NPR’s John Burnett. "Currently, 11 different contractors are at work on 27 separate construction contracts ... So far, $8 billion has been spent, part of the $15 billion that has been set aside for the gargantuan project — more than the price tag for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier." Despite President-elect Joe Biden’s promise that "[t]here will not be another foot of wall constructed" under his administration, Roberto Lopez, a community organizer with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said the project continues: "We’re still seeing filings. And the government isn't stopping or slowing. It seems like they're trying to speed up." Call me a cynic, but it sounds like someone wants to get paid before the spigot is shut off.

‘CREATIVE RESILIENCY’ – Disproportionately impacted by the pandemic yet ineligible for federal assistance, many of New York City’s more than half a million undocumented immigrants have become "ambulantes," or street vendors, in order to survive, Juan Arredondo and David Gonzalez report in a visual feature for The New York Times. "There’s no work anywhere," said Gerardo Vital, a Mexican immigrant living in Jackson Heights, Queens – part of the "epicenter of the epicenter" of the virus this spring. "When it gets cold, I’ll put on a jacket and wait for the customers to come." The city’s policies have made life even more difficult for these new street vendors: "for decades, New York has capped the number of citywide street vending permits — it is currently limited to 2,900 for food and 853 for vendors of general merchandise — creating a black market and making vendors vulnerable to high fines." Of the fight to survive, Alyshia Gálvez, founding director of Lehman College’s Jaime Lucero Mexican Studies Institute, said that "[t]his is the kind of creative resiliency that immigrant communities have always engaged in."

‘CARRY THE LIGHT’ – Sakina Halal Grill, a Pakistani immigrant-owned restaurant in Washington, D.C. famous for feeding thousands of poor and homeless people for years, is now asking for the public’s help to stay afloat, Caroline Patrickis reports for WJLA. "Before COVID-19 hit, we were feeding 70 to 80 people free meals a day," said Kazi Mannan, who owns the restaurant. But without customers during the pandemic, Mannan has cut his 15-person staff down to just two and has stopped serving free meals. "I can’t feed anybody because I can’t feed myself in this situation," he said. "Many restaurants are gone forever and right now it's more important that we can continue the mission and carry the light." You can learn more about, and support, Mannan and his mission at the restaurant’s GoFundMe.

MUDDLED TRANSITION – Employees at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have been instructed not to contact President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team until an administration official "deems the [election] results ‘clear.’" An anonymous USCIS employee told BuzzFeed News, as reported by Hamed Aleaziz: "It’s disturbing and disheartening that the agency is not permitting staff to aid the Biden transition team to ensure a smooth transfer. These delays could hamper the new administration’s ability to hit the ground running on important issues facing the agency and our country." The directive comes as the incoming Biden administration mulls over its initial immigration and citizenship plans, which will likely attempt to undo much of President Trump’s actions. We’ve laid out what we think his plans should entail in our Immigration Priorities for a Biden Administration.

Thanks for reading,

Ali