U.S. and international students with Fulbright scholarships have seen their resources paused and their future now made uncertain amid the federal funding freeze mandated by the Trump administration, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
Upon returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump imposed a 90-day freeze on foreign aid while every program underwent a review to determine their alignment with the administration's "America First" mandate.
On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that 83% of the programs funded by the USAID will be canceled. A portion of the Fulbright scholarship resources comes from USAID, and those students benefiting from the opportunity are now wondering if they need to return to the states.
The outlet spoke with Maaya Prasad, an MIT graduate from Virginia who pursued the Fulbright scholarship prior to beginning her Ph.D. Yet her studies in Mauritius have been thrown into question after the $6,000 she was expecting from the U.S. State Department turned out to be only $500.
"Everything I've done for the past few months will have been for nothing if I'm not able to stay," Prasad, 24, said, adding, "Will the money ever come?"
Prasad and thousands of others received an email from the government which began, "As with many federal agencies, State Department funding has been temporarily paused," creating panic that their studies and research will not continue.
Fanta Aw, executive director and CEO of NAFSA, a nonprofit that supports international education, said that Fulbright scholarships are not charity. "They were created with the understanding that the U.S. must exchange with the rest of the world and vice versa. This is about smart diplomacy. It is an investment in our future and in our national security and economic interest."
Some international students studying in the U.S. felt regret that they accepted the Fulbright scholarship after passing on offers from other countries. "I feel extremely disrespected. This is not how we treat our guests in my culture," said Shafiqul Islam from Bangladesh who added he would have gone to the UK if he had known "the U.S. government would humiliate me this way."
The Fulbright Association responded to the freeze with a statement saying it "jeopardizes the well-being and future of over 12,500 American students, youth, and professionals currently abroad or scheduled to participate in State Department programs in the next six months."
The Fulbright Scholar Program provides opportunities for 800 U.S. students to travel abroad and 900 visiting students to come to America each year. The program, established by Congress in 1946, aims to help scholars "build their skills and connections, gain valuable international insights and return home to share their experiences with their students and colleagues."