Amid a crackdown on universities and student visas across the United States, University of Edinburgh students who are studying in the US have spoken out on the stark juxtaposition between living in Joe Biden’s America versus that of Donald Trump’s.

Abi, Finlay, and Nancy have been at the epicentre of the political world while spending the year watching the US’s volatile political landscape from up-close in Washington DC. Students preferred not to use their full name to safeguard their anonymity out of fear of potential visa and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) implications of speaking out on their experience.

Recently, universities have hit the headlines due to students being detained by ICE or having their visas revoked. Abi said that “there have been lots of emails that we’ve been sent about what to do if ICE does come into a lecture of yours and professors have mentioned what we should do if there’s an ICE raid in one of our classes. So obviously it is something that the university is preparing for, but I’m not aware of it having happened yet.”

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“I’ve had emails from Edinburgh telling us to make sure to carry your passport on you at all times, don’t do anything that’s possibly against the law, don’t engage in any protest activity. Which is crazy because we’re in the heart of DC, you would expect........

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