Shops near Harvard brace for revenue drop as Trump suspends visas for new international students

CNA

2 days ago

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: Small businesses near Harvard University are worried about a loss of revenue as United States President Donald Trump's tussle with the Ivy League school over international students continues.
Just outside the university campus is Harvard Square, a bustling cultural and commercial hub with a lively mix of eateries, cafes, bookstores and other shops.
Kari Kuelzer, owner of Grendel's Den Restaurant & Bar – a pub that has called the square home for more than 50 years – told CNA that students account for a third of her business.
Kuelzer said she is unsure if her pub, which was opened by her parents, can survive if Harvard is forced to shut its doors to foreign students.
'Where are we going to get those dollars? They're not going to just magically materialise,' she said.
Like Grendel's Den, many establishments in the area are locally-owned and rely heavily on students as a key source of income.
IMPACT ON LOCAL BUSINESSES
There are around 6,800 international students at Harvard, making up about a quarter of the university's student body.
The Harvard Square Business Association, which represents more than 300 stores in the district, is worried about the impact on its members if Trump successfully restricts foreign nationals from studying at the elite school.
When asked about how retailers are preparing for the possibility of fewer students, Denise Jillson, executive director of the association, said that shop owners may resort to adopting measures used during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was less footfall.
'Reduction of staff, reduction of hours, less choices on the menu,' she said.
Jillson noted, however, that there were government subsidies available during the pandemic to offset a loss of business, unlike the current situation where there is no support.
'We don't have that safeguard now,' she added.
LONG-TERM, NATIONWIDE IMPACT
Beyond Harvard, experts said contributions by foreign students can be felt far and wide across the nation, and often last much longer than their college years.
Data from the Association of International Educators (NAFSA) revealed that more than 1.1 million international students in the US contributed nearly US$44 billion to its economy last year, including spending on tuition, housing, food and entertainment.
Foreign students typically pay full tuition fees, making them a vital revenue stream for schools faced with declining domestic enrolment – which, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, fell 15 per cent between 2010 and 2021.
Barnet Sherman, a corporate finance professor at Boston University, said that roughly one job is created for every three international students, making up about 350,000 jobs in the country.
'These are not just jobs in larger urban centres like Boston, but across the country, because nearly every city and town across America has a school, either a community college or a local state college, and there are a lot of international students coming,' he added.
He noted that 25 per cent of the billion-dollar companies on the US stock exchanges were started by international students.
'(The) implication is that it's not just the money that is potentially being lost now, but the multiplier effect of this money over time and the number of jobs and wealth that international students have created and will continue to create,' he added.
WHAT'S GOING ON BETWEEN TRUMP AND HARVARD?
In mid-April, the Trump administration ordered the freezing of billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard.
It accused the university of allowing anti-Semitism to flourish on campus and discriminating in its enrolment and hiring practices – claims that Harvard has strongly denied.
The White House on May 22 tried to revoke the university's ability to enrol international students. A day later, a judge temporarily blocked the move.
On Wednesday (Jun 4), Trump signed an executive order suspending the entry of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programmes at Harvard.
The dispute between Trump and the nation's oldest, wealthiest and most prestigious university is still ongoing.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also previously announced the federal government will 'aggressively' revoke the visas of Chinese students nationwide, especially those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.