VOA慢速英语--大学赢得了移民战,但担心美国在海外的形象

Colleges Win Immigration Battle, But Fear for US Image Overseas

Colleges and universities in the United States are pleased with a recent government decision on international students. Yet many schools fear they are losing a larger fight over the nation's reputation as a place that welcomes the world's very best students.

U.S. university officials see it as a breakdown¹ of what they have worked for. They are critical of President Donald Trump² and his top aides. They say the Trump administration's repeated attempts to limit immigration have sent students a message that they are not welcome in America. Colleges say foreign students are listening: Since Trump was elected in 2016, the number of new international students coming to the U.S. has fallen by 10 percent after years of growth.

Already, there is concern that the coronavirus health crisis³ and a slowdown of visa processing could prevent thousands of students from returning in a few weeks. Foreign students now have trouble predicting what to expect after seeing how quickly policies can change.

Kim Wilcox heads the University of California, Riverside. She told The Associated Press there is a growing sense the U.S. is not a welcoming place.

"Higher education in the United States is still seen as the gold standard ... but access to it comes with all kinds of risks," said Wilcox.

The administration's latest policy would have forced international students in the U.S. to change schools or leave the country if their schools held classes entirely⁴ online because of the pandemic. Even those at universities offering a mix of online and in-person classes would have been barred from taking all their classes online.

More than 200 colleges supported legal efforts by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, to overturn⁵ the policy.

Seven other cases followed as colleges and state government officials questioned the guidance. Called to court to defend the guidance, federal officials cancelled it instead.

It was widely seen as part of Trump's campaign to pressure U.S. schools and colleges to reopen this autumn, even as the number of coronavirus cases rises.

But even in defeat, the policy added to the idea that American universities are no longer the welcoming places they once were. That is the opinion of Denis Wirtz, head of research at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. The move comes as schools in Canada, Australia and other nations push for more international students. Over time, Wirtz said, those countries may win the world's top scholars.

It is painful for Wirtz to see. He came to the U.S. from Belgium in 1988 and remembers how warmly he was welcomed. Now, he warns future students and researchers that, off school grounds, there is growing anger towards immigrants.

"All those great scholars, wherever they are, India, China, Europe, may now ... go elsewhere or simply ... stay home," he said. "We will see its effect four, five years from now. It's not falling off a cliff, but over time you have this creep down ... toward mediocrity."

Leaders at other top research universities share his concern. Only hours after the administration withdrew the policy, the president of MIT released a statement. It warned that other countries are working hard to get students who have lost interest in the U.S. because of its growing anti-immigrant position.

There is also fear that the administration will return with an amended⁶ rule, as it did after a 2017 travel ban faced legal action. Hoping to ease concerns, many colleges have made statements promising⁷ to support their international students. And many say they are prepared to return to court if needed.

Daniel Diermeier, head of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, says it is not too late to repair the damage. The U.S. higher education system is still seen as the best in the world, but that could change, he noted⁸.

"We're going to have to fix this very quickly," he said. "Talent will go where it sees the best opportunity for itself."

U.S. colleges already were preparing for sharp drops in the number of students coming from overseas. It is still unclear how many will arrive next month, but observers expect it to be far below the nearly 1.1 million who came last year. The decrease could affect budgets at colleges that depend on money from foreign students, who usually pay higher rates for their study programs.

But the effect includes much more than budgets, Diermeier said. International students represent a large share of the nation's research force, he said, especially in science and engineering fields. They also add a great deal to the economy, and without them it would suffer, he said.

College leaders called the latest legal battle a major victory that showed their power when they unite. But they already see other fights soon to come. The administration has shown it wants to limit a program that lets foreign students work up to one year during college or after they complete their studies. Colleges have also opposed Trump's recent suspension⁹ of new H-1B work visas, which many international students use to find work.

I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

reputation – n. the common opinion that people have about someone or something

gold standard – n. something that is considered to be the best and that is used to judge the quality or level of other, similar things

access – n. a way of being able to use or get something

pandemic – n. an occurrence¹⁰ in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

scholar(s) – n. a person who has studied a subject for a long time and knows a lot about it

cliff – n. a high, steep surface

creep – v. to go or seem to go very slowly

mediocrity – n. the quality of something that is not very good

talent – n. a person or group of people with a special ability to do something well

opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

1 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 overturn   

v.推翻决定、结果等，翻倒，倾覆，使...翻倒

参考例句：

• Some high-ranking officers plotted to overturn the government.有几名高级军官策划推翻政府。
• We saw the canoe overturn,throwing its passengers into the water.我们看到独木舟倾覆了，把上面的乘客掀入水中。

6 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

7 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 suspension   

n.悬挂，悬浮液，暂缓，未决，中止

参考例句：

• The local authorities decided to build a suspension bridge over the river.地方当局决定在这条河上建一座吊桥。
• A four-day suspension was imposed on her.她被勒令停职4天。

10 occurrence   

n.发生，出现，事件，发生的事件

参考例句：

• Two things account for its occurrence.发生这件事的原因有两个。
• For a military commander，winning or losing a battle is a common occurrence.胜败乃兵家常事。