GW Weekly Federal Update (June 5)

GW Updates

• International Students and Immigration
   
  • In the May 30 edition of the GW Weekly Federal Update, we shared reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had instructed U.S. embassies to pause the scheduling of visa interviews for international students and visiting scholars until the State Department issues additional guidelines that will include expanded social media screening for visa applicants. In response, GW is modeling potential impact and student support scenarios based on information provided by the State Department. 
     
  • In a memorandum dated June 1, the Department of Defense authorized the detail of DoD civilian employees to the Department of Homeland Security to support DHS with internal immigration enforcement, as well as DHS’s operations at the U.S. southern border.  This could result in increased immigration enforcement actions nationwide. 
     
  • On June 4, the U.S. Government announced new travel restrictions that will affect the ability of citizens of certain countries to enter the U.S. The following restrictions go into effect on Monday, June 9, at 12:01am EDT.
     
    • The proclamation places a full travel ban, with certain limited exceptions, on citizens from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Citizens of these countries are prohibited from entering the U.S. under any visa category.
       
    • Partial restrictions apply to citizens from 7 additional countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Citizens from these countries are prohibited from entering the U.S. under specific visa categories, including F and J visas. 
       
  • We will continue to monitor developments and remain committed to supporting our international community amid evolving federal visa and immigration policies. Additional resources are available on the GW International Services Office website and for students through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
     
• As of May 30, federal agencies had terminated 47 sponsored projects on which a GW investigator is the principal investigator or subawardee. The terminated grants span nine schools and units and interrupt important knowledge creation, clinical research, international collaborations and workforce development efforts. In some cases, the university through its Office of Sponsored Projects has filed appeals of termination notices. GW continues to accept new awards. In the last thirty days our investigators have secured funding from federal, foundation and corporate sponsors.
   
• For awareness:  The District will host events in honor of the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday on Saturday, June 14. The university is monitoring activities associated with the events and remains in close coordination with local and federal partners. Check Campus Advisories for the latest updates.
   

Recent Federal Actions

• There is more activity between the U.S. Government and Harvard University.  On May 30, the State Department directed U.S. embassies and consulates to complete additional vetting for people requesting visas to travel to Harvard for any purpose.  The vetting applies not only to students but also to faculty, employees, contractors, guest speakers and tourists. On June 4, President Trump took it a step farther, issuing a proclamation temporarily preventing international students from entering the country in order to attend Harvard and directing the State Department to consider revoking the visas of current Harvard students, citing to national security concerns. On June 2, Harvard filed a motion for summary judgment in its lawsuit challenging the Administration freeze of $2.5 billion in federal grants and contracts. Harvard, in a declaration from one of its vice presidents, summarized the efforts Harvard has made since January 2024 to combat antisemitism on campus.
   
• In the May 30 GW Weekly Federal Update, we reported that the Administration had issued Columbia University a notice of violation under Title VI, accusing Columbia of acting with deliberate indifference towards student harassment of Jewish students since October 7, 2023. In a press release issued on June 4, the Department of Education announced that it had notified the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Columbia University’s accreditor, that in view of the Administration’s findings Columbia has violated Title VI and “no longer appears to meet the Commission’s accreditation standards.”
   
• On June 2, the Department of Education issued a press release recognizing the month of June as “Title IX Month” in honor of the 53rd anniversary of Title IX.  According to the press release, throughout June, ED “will highlight actions taken to reverse the Biden Administration’s legacy of undermining Title IX and announce additional protections to protect women in line with the true purpose of Title IX.” ED also announced in the press release that it began an investigation into the University of Wyoming after the university allegedly allowed a transgender woman to join a campus sorority.
   
• Eastern Michigan University (EMU) has ended its partnerships with two Chinese universities following pressure from Congress over national security concerns. In February, House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) sent a letter urging EMU to sever ties with Beibu Gulf University and Guangxi University, citing their affiliations with the Chinese military and defense initiatives. Following that outreach, EMU confirmed it has terminated both partnerships.
  
  This action is part of a broader congressional effort to scrutinize U.S. university partnerships with entities tied to the Chinese government and military. According to a joint committee report released last fall, these affiliations may pose risks to U.S. research integrity and national security—particularly in areas such as quantum computing, AI, and hypersonics. EMU now joins a growing list of institutions—including the University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, and the University of California, Berkeley—that have ended similar partnerships after congressional inquiries. And as we reported in the May 30 GW Weekly Federal Update, the State Department announced that it would “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields” and “revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”
   
• On May 30, the Trump Administration released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget proposal, outlining major shifts in federal funding priorities that could significantly affect higher education, scientific research, and the academic workforce. The proposal reflects a broad pullback of federal support for institutions of higher learning, with major reductions proposed for student financial aid, research funding, and graduate education. Budget proposals for several key agencies are as follows:
   
  • The Department of Education would see its discretionary funding fall by 15.3% under the FY 2026 budget proposal—a $12 billion cut. Key student aid programs would face sweeping reductions or elimination. Pell Grant funding would decline by $9.3 billion, reducing overall student access. Federal Work Study would be slashed by 80%. Several signature student support programs would be eliminated altogether, including the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), the TRIO programs that support first-generation and low-income students, and the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program. International Education and Foreign Language Studies programs would also be zeroed out. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which supports education data and research, would be downsized significantly, with a narrowed focus on practical, state-driven research and continued support only for core datasets like IPEDS and PISA.
     
  • National Institutes of Health FY 2026 budget proposal cuts total program-level support to $27.9 billion—down nearly $18 billion from current levels. This would represent one of the most substantial federal disinvestments in biomedical research in decades. The proposal calls for a major reorganization of NIH, consolidating the agency into eight institutes and eliminating four key components: the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the National Institute for Nursing Research, the Fogarty International Center, and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. The Administration also proposes capping indirect cost reimbursements to research institutions at 15%, significantly lowering the recovery rate for overhead expenses associated with federally funded projects. Meanwhile, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) would be shifted to a new office under the Assistant Secretary for a Healthy Future and funded at $945 million, with a focus on health security, chronic disease, and rural health access.
     
  • The National Science Foundation FY 2026 budget proposal would reduce NSF’s budget by more than half, amounting to a $4.9 billion or 56% cut. These reductions would substantially curtail the federal government’s investment in basic research, STEM education, and innovation capacity. Core scientific research, funded through the Research and Related Activities account, would be reduced from $7.72 billion to $3.28 billion. All STEM education programs administered by NSF—including the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarships, and initiatives for underrepresented students—would be eliminated, erasing $1.21 billion in targeted funding to support the next generation of scientists and engineers. Administrative and compliance functions would also be reduced.
     
  • The Department of Labor FY 2026 budget proposal would completely eliminate the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) next fiscal year. The proposed elimination of OFCCP follows the Administration’s issuance in January 2025 of Executive Order 14173 captioned “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”  That EO, among other things, rescinded 1965’s Executive Order 11246, which prohibits employment discrimination by federal contractors and requires contractors to take affirmative action to ensure equal employment opportunity.  OFCCP is the agency that oversees contractor compliance with EO 11246, among other responsibilities. Under the proposed budget, OFCCP’s responsibilities not related to EO 11246 would be transferred to the EEOC and the Department of Labor.
     
• In light of the State Department halting scheduling visa interviews for international students, economists warn of the impact that losing international students could have on local and state economies. NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, said the 1.1 million international students in the U.S. in the 2023–2024 academic year contributed nearly $44 billion to the economy and supported more than 378,000 jobs. In Washington, D.C., 11,944 international students contributed $572.8 million to the local economy and supported 4,475 jobs, a higher impact than in 31 states. Economists warn that reduced enrollment could negatively affect universities, local businesses, and job markets.

Resources and Reminders

About this Newsletter

To ensure that students, faculty and staff feel supported and informed about how federal developments affect higher education and GW, the university launched a weekly Federal Update. This newsletter shares timely information, addresses questions and provides resources.