Trump's Trials - Many rural schools rely on international teachers. Trump's visa changes threaten that

Episode Date: October 21, 2025

Last month, President Trump unveiled a plan that requires employers pay a $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas. The impact on schools and educators will be significant. According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, more than 20,000 educators are in the country on H-1B visas — the third most common occupation group for the program. NPR's Sequoia Carrillo reports.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detrow, and this is Trump's Terms from NPR. We're under invasion from within. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will. We all serve at the pleasure of the president. The golden age of America is upon us. We are in the golden age. Every episode, we bring you one of NPR's latest stories about the 47th president, and now he is trying to remake the federal government.

Today's story starts right after this. In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Michelle Martin. When the Trump administration put new restrictions on high. hiring high-skilled workers from outside the country last month, it focused on how the move would affect the tech industry.

NPR Sequoia Carrillo reports there may be an unintended consequence in rural school districts by keeping teachers out of classrooms. Hardin, a town of 4,000, about an hour east of Billings, Montana, sits just off the Crow Indian Reservation. It's a place that has had trouble attracting teachers. Tobin Nevejo is the superintendent there. 15 years ago, if I had an elementary ed opening, there was 20 to 25 candidates. Now? If we get two, we're ecstatic. Harden, like many rural districts, relies on international teachers to fill out its staff.

There's not American candidates for those jobs. We beat the bushes to try and get folks hired here. Out of 150 teachers in the district, about 30 are in the U.S. on visas. Most are from the Philippines. One of them is Maria Christina Tomenbaum, a middle school. math teacher with more than 20 years of experience. It's really such a blessing. I love being here. She's on a short-term J-1 visa with hopes to one day graduate to the longer-term H-1B visa that offers more job security and doesn't require educators to periodically leave the U.S. for a year at a time.

But things are about to get tougher for the district and for teachers like Tomenbaum. Last month, President Trump unveiled a plan that now requires employers to pay a $100,000 fee for new H-1Bong. B visas. In his announcement, Trump specifically called out high-paying tech jobs that he said were filled by too many foreign workers. But Neveso and other educators say the impact on schools will be significant. I don't have a teacher in my district that makes $100,000 a year. So to pay that fee on top of a salary, it's going to kill the H-1B for education. According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, more than 20,000 educators are in the country on H-1B visas, the third highest occupation group for the program. When asked about the impact of the proclamation on teachers, Taylor Rogers, a White House spokeswoman, told NPR that, quote, President Trump promised to put American workers first, and this common sense action does just that by discouraging companies from spamming the system and driving down American wages. In a statement, the White House also directed NPR to the text of the proclamation, which would allow DHS to grant exceptions to the fee.

It's unclear whether such an exemption might be granted to schools and school districts. When asked for comment, DHS referred NPR back to the White House. The AASA, an organization representing school superintendents, has been working on navigating the new rule in Washington. Sasha Podelsky, the director of advocacy there, says she feels hopeful about that part of the text. We just believe this is an unintentional consequence, and we're doing everything we can to ensure the Department of Homeland Security exams, educators. But in tandem with the proclamation, the administration released a proposal to take a decision. change the H-1B visa from a lottery system to a weighted scale that gives preference to the highest earners. The average teacher salary in the state of Montana in 2023 was $58,600, far below what many tech workers make.

Podelsky worries this proposal could be the most harmful for schools and educators. As you might imagine, education is not a particularly lucrative profession, and so we're very worried that this could present a more significant long-term barrier to utilizing these visas for educators. In Harden, Montana, meanwhile, Superintendent Nevejo hopes people will have some empathy for those folks that are packing up their lives and coming to our country to help teach our kids. He's already on the lookout for teachers for next year, but he doesn't know where he's going to find them. Sequoic Carillo, NPR News. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news. news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without

sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.