Graphic by Bex Povill
In the United States, citizens generally have the right to reenter the country should they find themselves abroad. In fact, more Americans have the right to return than have the right to leave (true, strangely enough). And yet, a group of Tufts University students currently finds itself in this bizarre limbo—neither permitted to depart from their host country nor welcomed back by the Trump administration.
Tufts University offers a variety of study abroad programs across the globe, providing students with unparalleled intercultural experiences while maintaining academic rigor. These programs span from Asia to Latin America, allowing students to immerse themselves in new cultures— where they often find themselves in unfamiliar situations. One such program, Tufts in Chile, has recently made international headlines after its students were denied the ability to return home at the end of their semester.
In what experts are calling either a noble act of humanitarian resistance or a hilariously elaborate bureaucratic stunt, the Chilean government has prohibited these Tufts students from reentering their native country. While Chilean officials have yet to provide a formal statement, one anonymous source claims the decision was made out of “an ethical obligation not to send young people back to a country that will neither welcome them nor support their cultural awareness”.
Students, meanwhile, remain divided on how to respond to their newfound status as indefinite residents of Chile.
“I mean, yeah, I miss Tufts,” said one student, glancing wistfully at a polaroid of Jumbo the elephant. “Like where else am I supposed to get a Ciudad burrito bowl like they make at Hodge?”
Still determined to return to the United States, the logical next step was to consult the U.S. Embassy in Santiago. However, upon arriving at the embassy gates, students were met with a firm refusal. Embassy officials cited a newly implemented policy in which any American who has attained proficiency in a language other than English is considered a “compromised asset.” “We cannot confirm nor deny that these students have developed foreign sympathies,” one embassy representative stated. “But the fact that they can order food in Spanish without pointing at the menu is a red flag.”
When reached for comment, President Trump dismissed the students’ predicament outright. “Look, we don’t want them back. Any American I’ve ever met who has spent some time outside of our great nation forgets how to speak English. It’s basic linguistics. They leave saying ‘hello’ and come back saying ‘hola’. It’s a disaster. We can’t have it.”
This diplomatic standoff comes amid a broader immigration crackdown that has led to unexpected consequences on Tufts’ own campus. In a bureaucratic mix-up, the Trump administration’s latest immigration policy resulted in the mass deportation of all Olin staff, as well as any students enrolled in a foreign language major. The move has caused widespread disruption, particularly in Tufts’ Spanish department, which has been forced to revise its curriculum to accommodate new government standards.
Under the new guidelines, Spanish 1 will consist of watching Spanish-language films with English dubs and subtitles, Spanish 2 will allow students to watch the same films but with Spanish subtitles, and Spanish 3 will require them to watch the films in Spanish—albeit with English subtitles as a safety net. “An innovative approach,” said Sunil Kumar, “that makes sure no student has to engage in a foreign language, while still only making it halfway through the language requirement.”
Meanwhile, the stranded Tufts students in Chile continue to navigate their unexpected exile, torn between two nations—one that doesn’t want to let them go, and one that doesn’t want them back. As they weigh their options, they can at least take solace in one thing: no matter where they end up, they’ll never have to pay 80k for tuition again.
