President Trump publicly defended maintaining large numbers of international students at U.S. campuses, arguing their tuition underwrites many university budgets and warning against policies that would cripple higher‑education finances. His comments came amid earlier visa rollbacks, heightened vetting and administrative actions that had raised concerns about a drop in foreign enrollments this academic year. At the same time, sector‑level reporting found international‑applicant interest to U.S. programs softened earlier in the year but not yet produced a dramatic enrollment collapse; some platforms reported traffic declines while enrollment metrics have been mixed. The contradictory signals reflect a volatile policy backdrop and uneven application yields across institutions. University leaders must balance national security and compliance with the near-term fiscal reliance on international tuition: admissions teams, international offices and CFOs should model sensitivity scenarios and strengthen outreach in priority source countries.