Reimagining Faculty Roles in Supporting International Students' Mental Health Amid Unstable Immigration Policies

The United States (U.S.) remains a leading destination for international education, attracting students from across the globe due to its rigorous academic programs, distinguished faculty, advanced research facilities, and global reputation as a developed nation (Acar, 2024; Nicholls, 2018). For many international students, gaining admission to a U.S. institution represents a transformative opportunity that promises access to world-class education, professional advancement associated with high utility of U.S.-earned degrees (Chao et al, 2017; Zhou, 2015). 

U.S. institutions of higher education also position internationalization as a marker of global engagement, multiculturalism, and academic excellence. Within this framing, international students are often tokenized as evidence of institutional prestige and cosmopolitanism. In their influential analysis of the discursive construction of international students in the U.S, Ford and Cate (2020) argue that universities profit materially and symbolically from international students’ enrollment, benefiting from reputations as ethnically diverse and globally connected. As they note, international students are “discursively constructed…as markers of prestige and legitimacy, as well as a means of economic stimulus” (Ford & Cate, 2020, p. 1196). 

Yet, beneath this celebratory narrative lies an extreme contradiction. Despite the elevated status that international student enrollment confers upon U.S. institutions, international students themselves frequently navigate complex and uncertain realities. These realities are shaped by restrictive immigration policies, evolving visa regulations, and increasing geopolitical turmoil, as well as other interpersonal challenges they must navigate in their new environment. While institutions eagerly welcome international students for the vibrance they add to campus climate and revenue streams, far less attention is afforded to the structural and emotional issues they navigate to survive and thrive within such environments.

International students face challenges that extend beyond academic demands, including navigating cultural differences, systemic inequities, financial pressures, and limited social and institutional support networks (Wu et al., 2015). These factors can negatively impact mental health, academic performance, professional development, and long-term career trajectories. Uncertainty regarding legal status and visa policies, such as potential changes to the F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, concerns about visa renewals, and heightened visa scrutiny in the current immigration climate, adds further stress, intensifying anxiety about post-graduation opportunities in the United States (Park & Shimada, 2022). 

Universities have responded to growing concerns about student mental health by expanding counselling and support services, with more than 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities now offering some form of mental health support (Aluri et al., 2025). Yet one important dimension often goes overlooked: the role of faculty. As the most consistent point of contact for international students, faculty are uniquely positioned to respond to academic, emotional, and psychosocial needs. In an era of heightened immigration uncertainty and increased stress for international students, faculty engagement is a crucial part of supporting student well-being.

Discursive Construction of International Students

Within higher education, Iverson (2007) argues that international students, particularly students of color, are discursively constructed as “outsiders” whose presence nonetheless benefits universities. Such framing is problematic, as it simultaneously commodifies international students while reinforcing deficit-oriented narratives that marginalize them. This dialectical positioning casts international students as both institutional assets and perceived competitors for opportunities reserved for U.S. citizens. These tensions become especially visible within elite institutions, where international students have increasingly been drawn into broader political and legal debates concerning immigration policy and university autonomy. As seen in cases involving universities such as Harvard, international student enrolment has become a site of contestation. To challenge narratives that perpetuate stereotypes or marginalize international students, faculty engagement is needed, as their sustained interaction with students provides an avenue for advocacy, mentorship, and nurturing more inclusive institutional practices.

Immigration Policy Implication 

Recent U.S. immigration policies, including travel bans and visa restrictions, have limited international students’ mobility, placing them in a dilemma to choose between family connections abroad and academic obligations. These constraints also hinder professional development abroad, as fears of reentry prevent participation in international conferences and scholarly activities. Such limitations contribute to isolation, anxiety, depression, and loneliness (Zhou et al., 2022). Despite elevated mental health risks, research shows that international students do not access counseling due to cultural stigma, unfamiliarity with services, and confidentiality concerns, leaving significant needs unmet.

Faculty as Critical Yet Underrecognized Contributors

Faculty engagement is a powerful but underutilized lever for improving the mental health of international students facing heightened anxiety due to immigration-related stressors. Faculty members interact with students in structured and sustained ways, shaping classroom climates, academic expectations, and interpersonal experiences. These interactions influence how students perceive their place within the institution. However, traditional conceptions of faculty roles emphasize Socratic teaching paradigms, often overlooking the need for intentional interactions with students. This limited framing fails to account for the contextual dimensions of teaching, particularly in diverse and globalized classrooms.

Reframing Faculty Support: A Three-Dimensional Approach

Supporting international students does not require faculty to assume clinical or therapeutic roles. I propose three interconnected dimensions for supporting international students: awareness, the practice of attentive listening, and advocacy-oriented engagement (including connecting students to appropriate institutional resources). 

Awareness 

Faculty members must remain informed about ongoing social, political, and immigration developments that significantly affect international students. While staying attuned to students’ broader circumstances may appear to be an additional responsibility alongside existing academic demands, it is critical to recognize that students’ academic performance is shaped by more than pedagogical content alone. Anxiety, mental health stressors, and uncertainties surrounding immigration policy meaningfully influence students’ capacity to engage and therefore cannot be overlooked.

One way faculty can cultivate awareness is by engaging with international news and public discourse related to immigration and access to education. Such engagement offers insight into the complex terrain international students navigate to maintain legal status and academic continuity. Faculty may also consult International Student and Scholar Services offices, which exist within most higher education institutions and serve as valuable sources of expertise on policy changes and student support resources.

At a more interpersonal level, faculty may engage in brief mindfulness or reflective exercises before class sessions to become more present and attentive to students’ experiences. When a safe and inclusive classroom environment is intentionally cultivated, it promotes a culture of care in which empathy is modeled and normalized. Such environments support international students’ well-being as well as encourage all students to engage with one another more thoughtfully. 

The practice of attentive listening

At the heart of staying informed is a commitment to effective listening. Faculty members often enter classrooms with dense course itineraries and pressure to cover extensive content within limited instructional time, leaving little room to listen attentively to students. As a result, conversations that may be critical to students’ academic and personal experiences are frequently dismissed as peripheral or irrelevant. Prioritizing student-centered pedagogical approaches is therefore essential, as such approaches create space for students to engage meaningfully and articulate what they genuinely care about.

Because faculty members are often the most immediate and consistent point of contact students have with their institutions, instructors must intentionally cultivate and practice attentive listening. Doing so fosters cognitive belonging, whereby students feel heard, and a sense of belonging. Cognitive belonging is particularly significant for students from international and marginalized backgrounds, as it communicates legitimacy and counters experiences of being perceived as “others” or “outsiders.” Attentive listening can also reinforce positive self-efficacy and mitigate imposter syndrome. 

Advocacy

Advocacy represents a broader dimension of faculty support that extends beyond instructional practices. Faculty play a critical role in connecting international students to institutional resources such as counseling services, international student offices, and academic support centers. Proactively sharing information and reiterating their availability throughout the semester can significantly reduce barriers to access. 

Beyond syllabus-based advocacy, faculty are uniquely positioned to engage in individualized forms of support. Through continuous interaction, instructors may gain insight into students’ personal and academic challenges, creating opportunities to encourage resource utilization on a one-on-one basis. This approach is particularly important given that many international students may be hesitant to seek counseling or institutional support due to stigma, cultural norms, or concerns about immigration status. As such, faculty must adopt a proactive advocacy stance rather than relying on students to initiate help-seeking.

In an immigration-charged environment, advocacy also entails recognizing the structural conditions that shape international students’ well-being. Although faculty may not directly influence immigration policy, they can contribute to institutional cultures that prioritize equity and care. 

Conclusion

As higher education continues to evolve within a global and politically complex landscape, faculty roles must also adapt. Teaching is not solely the transmission of knowledge but the creation of environments that enable all students to succeed. For international students navigating an anti-immigration-charged climate, faculty support can significantly shape academic and personal outcomes. By staying informed, practicing the art of listening, and adopting advocacy-oriented practices, faculty can contribute to more inclusive and supportive learning environments.

References

Acar, E. (2024). Exploring the Decision-Making Process of International Students: Factors Influencing their Choice of US Colleges. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 11(4), 192–209. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/2273

Aluri, J., Terzian, A., Mojtabai, R., & Arria, A. (2025). Prevalence of On-Campus Student Mental Health Services at U.S. Colleges and Universities: A Web-Based Analysis.  Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.), 76(7), 675–678.  https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20240479

Chao, C., Hegarty, N., Angelidis, J., & Lu, V. F. (2017). Chinese Students’ Motivations for Studying in the United States. Journal of International Students, 7(2), 257–269. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v7i2.380

Ford, K. S., & Cate, L. (2020). The discursive construction of international students in the USA: Prestige, diversity, and economic gain. Higher Education, 80(6), 1195–1211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00537-y

Nicholls, S. (2018). Influences on International Student Choice of Study Destination: Evidence from the United States. Journal of International Students, 8(2), 597–622. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v8i2.94

Park, C., & Shimada, S. (2022). The impact of changing nonimmigrant visa policies on international students’ psychological adjustment and well-being in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study. BMC Public Health, 22(1), Article 2227. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14698-1

Wu, H., Guzman, N., & Garza, E. (2015). International Student’s Challenge and Adjustment to College. Education Research International, 2015(2015), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/202753 

Zhou, J. (2015). International students’ motivation to pursue and complete a Ph.D. in the U.S. Higher Education, 69(5), 719–733. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-014-9802-5

Zhou, X., Zhou, A. Q., & Sun, X. (2022). Prevalence of common mental concerns and service utilization among international students studying in the U.S. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 35(3), 483–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2021.1875400