On May 22nd local time, the Trump administration of the United States announced the revocation of Harvard University's qualification to enroll international students and forced on-campus international students to transfer schools, further escalating the conflict between the federal government and Harvard University. In response, Fortune Magazine published an article on May 23rd stating, "Trump is killing the goose that lays golden eggs for America."

"This is not pruning, it's burning the forest down."

Fortune Magazine stated that while universities, like the US government, have issues with bloat and waste, Trump's approach of cutting research funding and targeting international students is not pruning but burning the entire forest down. In this process, he is threatening the very foundation of American technological leadership, economic prosperity, and global influence.

The article noted that America's global competitiveness relies on its universities' open attitude towards talent and investment in research. Many innovations that define modern America come from outstanding talents from around the world who achieved their breakthroughs in the United States, such as the internet (UCLA), Google's search algorithm (Stanford), GPS (MIT), and mRNA vaccines (University of Pennsylvania). Breakthroughs in clean energy, artificial intelligence, and cancer treatment are also examples. Now, due to Trump's actions, even cancer research has been interrupted due to frozen federal grants and laboratory closures.

Harvard University, long regarded as a beacon in the international academic community, has had its qualification to enroll foreign students revoked. Over $2.7 billion in federal research funds have been frozen. MIT announced a reduction in graduate student admissions and cuts to researchers. The University of California system is filing a lawsuit to block NIH grant cuts. All of these will severely damage scientific progress in the United States.

America is driving away the "goose that lays golden eggs" to other countries.

Fortune Magazine believes that what America faces to lose is not just research funding, but those who turn research results into reality. For decades, the brightest students from around the world have gathered at American universities. They not only study but also stay to work and start businesses.

△ Elon Musk is an immigrant. He was born in South Africa, studied and started his business in the United States.

In the past half-century, immigrants have played important roles in almost every American success story. More than half of Silicon Valley's startups were founded by immigrants. A 2022 report from the National Foundation for Policy found that 55% of America's unicorn startups (companies valued over $1 billion) were founded by immigrants. This list includes Tesla, Google, Intel, PayPal, Moderna, and Zoom, among others.

In the field of scientific research, the situation is similar. Foreign-born researchers make up a high proportion of Nobel Prize winners in the U.S., top university faculty members, and inventors of patents filed with U.S. institutions. More than 75% of patents from U.S. research universities have at least one foreign-born inventor.

However, these contributors are increasingly being obstructed by U.S. government policies. Delays in visa processing have become routine, and highly skilled immigrants, including PhD holders and postdoctoral fellows, face long waits, opaque rules, and increasing uncertainty. As a result, excellent researchers are flocking to other countries.

What is being weakened is not just the schools, but the entire United States.

In Fortune Magazine's view, even from a purely economic perspective, Trump's policies do not hold up. International students contribute more than $40 billion annually to the U.S. economy. They pay full tuition, rent housing, and consume locally. Many eventually become entrepreneurs, taxpayers, and job creators, making long-term contributions to the U.S. At the same time, research projects support hundreds of thousands of jobs across states, fuel startups, sustain regional economies, and drive future industries. Weakening this foundation not only harms universities but weakens the U.S. as a whole.

Fortune Magazine warned that Trump's policies will ultimately harm the group he claims to defend: the American working class. When universities lose research funding, they cut staff; when international students leave, local businesses from coffee shops to apartment buildings are impacted; when breakthroughs are delayed or shelved, the U.S. loses competitive advantages, along with the associated jobs and industries.

Source: CCTV News Client

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7507946366467932711/

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