The Biden-Harris administration Monday announced that it ushered in a record number of international students into the United States.
Over 1.12 million foreign students studied at American colleges and universities in the 2023-2024 academic year, marking a new record for the country, the State Department announced in a press release that celebrated the beginning of International Education Week. The milestone marked just the latest historical record involving foreign nationals in the U.S. under the Biden-Harris administration.
“Now in its 75th year, Open Doors reports more than 1.12 million international students studied at U.S. colleges and universities in the 2023-2024 academic year, a record high that underscores [Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s] commitment to making the United States the top destination for international study,” the State Department stated in its press release.
“The economic activity of international students also makes significant contributions to the U.S. economy, bringing in more than $50 billion in 2023, according to the Department of Commerce,” the press statement continued.
The U.S. remains the number one destination for international students, and they have been flocking to U.S. colleges and universities in increasing numbers over recent years, according to data reported by U.S. News and World Report. There were roughly one million international college students at American colleges and universities during the 2022-2023 academic year, marking a near 12% jump the previous academic year and the fastest growth rate in four decades.
For the first time in roughly 15 years, India overtook China as the top origin of foreign students in the U.S., according to the Open Doors data. Indian nationals made up 29% of the international student population and Chinese nationals accounted for 25%, with the two countries leading every other nation by far.
American lawmakers have also sounded the alarm about the growing threat of Chinese influence at American colleges and universities. A group of GOP senators in September 2023 introduced legislation that aimed to limit Chinese Community Party influence by targeting the millions of foreign dollars that go to U.S. universities
While the international student population in the U.S. continues to increase, immigration hardliners remain critical of the vetting processes that ultimately allow hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals into the country every year and how many foreign students use training programs as a means to remain in the U.S. indefinitely.
The record-setting foreign student population follows record levels of illegal immigration into the U.S. under the Biden-Harris administration.
The number of illegal border crossings in fiscal year 2024 were the second worst in U.S. history — only surpassed by fiscal year 2023, according to data tracked by Customs and Border Protection. There were roughly 8.5 million migrant encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border during the four fiscal years of the Biden-Harris administration.
The Biden White House has also flown in more than half a million foreign nationals into the U.S. via an initiative known as CHNV — a program that grants two-year parole to Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan nationals. Around 30,000 migrants were being flown into the country a month via the CHNV parole program.
Additionally, over 800,000 foreign nationals scheduled asylum appointments through the CBP One app from January 2023 through the end of August 2024, according to CBP.
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