Camps in China are training students on how to handle an ICE raid in the US
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Camps in China are training students on how to handle an ICE raid in the US")
Chinese students are preparing at camps to study in the US. Photograph: (AFP)
ICE raids against international students in the US have created fear among Chinese parents sending their children to the country for higher studies. Camps in the country are training students to handle any such eventuality.
The crackdown on immigrants in the United States has forced China to train its students to handle uncalled-for situations in the country. Beijing is holding summer camps to prepare students on how to cope with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, SCMP reported. They initially started as a preparatory place where they could learn to tackle hate crimes, kidnappings, phone and internet scams, and bullying. However, the risk of an ICE action against them is the latest addition.
The advertisement for one such camp in Beijing reads, “This training simulates ICE enforcement tactics and procedures, preparing participants to respond calmly and effectively to sudden raids in various everyday settings – including their homes, schools and public spaces."
ICE has in the past weeks detained and deported several noncitizens living in the United States. ICE officers execute administrative warrants by visiting specific residential addresses early in the morning or late at night. Operations are conducted near agricultural plants, construction sites, and service businesses. Some individuals who reported for mandatory, scheduled check-ins at local ICE field offices are sometimes detained directly on site.
This has created a fear amongst international students going to the US for higher education. Several Chinese students also prefer international education and go to the US like several other students from across the world. However, apart from the changes in rules that previously put schools and colleges out of bounds for immigration enforcement, there is no basis to believe that kidnappings by strangers are common in the country. However, hate crimes and bullying are still prevalent.
Chinese parents still choosing US for studies despite fears
Experts say that there has been a fall in overall confidence among parents sending their kids to the US for education. They are less certain about their future, but are still choosing to send their wards since many of them have already invested a lot of time and money. A mother told SCMP that they knew they would receive fewer university offers, but still sent their son to the US. “But if it’s hard to stay in the US after graduation, maybe we’ll decide to work in Hong Kong then,” the mother said.
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Yingyi Ma, a professor at Syracuse University, said, despite the wish to study in the US, there is "a stronger willingness among some Chinese students to return to China, and an overall decline in the number of Chinese students going to the US,” she said.
Open Doors Report, an annual survey on international students in the US, shows the number of Chinese students has been dropping for five years. In 2019, the United Kingdom replaced the US as the most desired destination for Chinese students. However, the quality of academic programmes gave the US a certain edge.
