Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California warned Tuesday that the nation’s economy and talent pipeline could take a hit if international students opt against attending colleges in the United States because of President Donald Trump’s visa policies.
“The reality is that you have people like Elon Musk who were foreign students, I mean, they have been embedded in Silicon Valley and the companies that have been created,” Khanna said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley, said that world-class educational opportunities for foreign students are one of America’s “biggest exports of anything.”
“You go talk to Stanford, you talk to other state colleges, many of them rely on international students to be able to have the employment they do.” Foreign students who pay full freight also “help defray the cost so American students don’t have to pay as much.”
During the 2023-2024 school year, International students contributed roughly $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy according to the nonpartisan nonprofit NAFSA, the Association of International Educators.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is seen in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Widely seen as a potential contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, Khanna has built a reputation as an outspoken advocate for policies that encourage tech innovation and entrepreneurship.
This has occasionally put Khanna and his party at odds.
He’s also been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s efforts to target international students as part of its crackdown on both immigration and progressive campus culture at some of the nation’s top universities.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security moved to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, marking a dramatic escalation of the administration’s efforts to compel the university to adopt the Trump administration’s ideological positions.
A federal judge has paused the ban from taking effect.
But experts said the DHS order would have a chilling effect on foreign students still deciding whether to study in the U.S. next fall — regardless of the legal battle playing out in courts.
Khanna has previously criticized the Harvard ban — and called on Silicon Valley tech leaders to speak up against it.
In a post on X last month, Khanna name checked David Sacks, Marc Andreessen, Reid Hoffman and other tech titans, asking if they were “willing to speak out against” the ban on international students at Harvard.
“I know … that there is not a single tech leader who can defend this on the merits,” Khanna wrote.
