Hispanic Voters Were the Stars of the 2024 Election
One can hardly read any analysis of the stunning results of the presidential election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, without reading in the first paragraphs, headlines and charts that Hispanic voters (suddenly the term Latino seems to have diminished) made a historic leap, a change that propelled the Republican party’s and President Elect Donald Trump’s victory almost everywhere. Charts show the Republican tally of Hispanic voters went from 25 percent in 1992, 44 percent in 2004 (Bush 2nd term), 31 and 27 percent in Obama’s election in 2008 and 2012, 28 percent in Trump’s first term in 2015, and 45 percent in 2024.
Pundits’ analyses about why the increase happened cross a broad range of issues, mainly starting with economic ones: inflation, especially, although Democrats said there was none. “Immigration” was always cited as the top issue of Hispanics, but most analysts go no further than the single word: does it mean out-of-control border crossings of people from all over the world? Impact of surges of tens of thousands of dubiously legal migrants (i.e. tens of thousands of illegal border crossers, given the Biden administration’s “parole” without vetting)? Impact on local schools, hospitals, and social services formerly used by American minorities struggling in towns and cities big and small – engendering a huge resentment, especially among blacks who also voted in increased numbers for Trump – and even incorporated the “Trump dance” at NFL games. The gender divide was interesting, with Trump increasing his vote by wide margins with young men and suburban wives. In fact, the college degree gap was also most visible among voters with four-year college degrees (about 40 percent of the population) and everyone else.
However, the gold star for most influence in the presidential election seems to go to Hispanic-American men who are mostly middle class, many blue-collar workers. That population, across races, used to be the base of the Democratic party – but not in this election.
Record Number 1.1+ million International students in the U.S. – most in STEM fields
The middle of November is when the most comprehensive study of international students in the U.S. is released by the International Institute of Education in New York. This year, the IIE’s President Allen Goodman, as almost always, reported historic rising numbers of what IIE refers to as “international” students – 1.1,129,690 studying in some 3000 institutions of higher education who have been vetted and designated by the U.S. State Department as approved international student sites.
That means they can issue an international student or scholar permit to eligible applicants from abroad and have an official foreign student advisor and often staff on campus to oversee them. Most public colleges – four and two year degree programs – charge international students double to triple the tuition of U.S. citizens and permanent legal residents (green card holders) . It is un-waived, and the students are not eligible for federal grants. The permits are clearly stated as NON-IMMIGRANT. They are temporary, for a specific number of years according to the college and degree being earned. Since 2005, international students’ residency and graduation data have been tracked by a digital system called SEVIS in the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau (ICE - the nation’s only agency charged with enforcing immigration laws inside the country). This information is shared with the FBI. The data is only collected while the student is registered.
The international student program was started after World War II to give gifted students from war-torn countries a chance to pursue their studies and then return home to help their homelands recover. It was never intended to be an immigration visa – and therefore, it does not fall under immigration numbers and balanced nationalities restrictions. It was never intended to drain the brains of other countries and to be a way around immigration policies. India is the largest source of international students, followed by China, South Korea, Canada and Taiwan. Mexico is the twelfth largest source.
With immigration, a hot-button issue in the presidential election and the coming year, what some analysts call “the foreign student industry – a top U.S. export” and source of foreign revenue – will certainly be in the spotlight. Especially as President-elect Trump has let it be known that he favors the long-held bipartisan idea that international students graduating with advanced degrees in STEM fields should be given a green card. It’s a popular idea, but it changes immigration rules to favor millions of immigrants, particularly from Asia. Its impact on job and graduate opportunities for American students has to be analyzed. Obviously, it would make our immigration system closer to Canada’s, which is a point system that favors the highly educated and which has many pros and cons.
Education Issues to Look Out for From Congress:
1. Student loan forgiveness: most likely will not be considered by Congress during this year’s Lame Duck Session and is not of interest in the Republican-led House and Senate of 2025.
2. The DACA program will most likely end. Other programs for undocumented immigrants who were brought in as young (under 13) children may have some sympathy for expedited paths to a green card but not those who just “came in before the age of 16” – legally or otherwise, as Obama’s DACA executive order has it.
3. The U.S. Department of Education will be under heavy scrutiny for duplicate and other expensive programs.
4. Title IX will probably exclude self-identified genders from use of other gender facilities and sports.
