Penn, Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore join 48 higher education institutions in signing the brief, which touts the benefits of international students to the U.S. The document states, in part: \u201cThose who come from abroad to study and research in the United States enrich and strengthen our country in innumerable ways. These benefits are unattainable when schools are prohibited from enrolling international students because they do not pass the government\u2019s ideological litmus test.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
International House Philadelphia<\/a> has been an advocacy group for Greater Philadelphia\u2019s population of international students since 1918. Its executive director, Bill Keyes, said that higher education institutions supporting Harvard in court \u201clikely recognize that any policies jeopardizing international enrollment represent an existential risk.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot afford for students from around the world to second-guess whether their futures are secure here,\u201d Keyes said.\n<\/p>\n Keyes noted that the federal government\u2019s immigration crackdown and its position on international students has resulted in a 17% decrease in enrollment from overseas at U.S universities, as of fall 2025. According to a study from NAFSA: Association of International Educators, this drop is estimated to have cost the U.S. economy $1.1 billion and 23,000 jobs<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe policy changes affecting employment-based immigration are already leading to the hemorrhaging of early-career talent the American economy really can\u2019t afford to lose,\u201d Keyes saod.\n<\/p>\n