Lutnick Says 600,000 Chinese Students Keep 15% of U.S. Colleges Afloat

Cantor Fitzgerald Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick defended the presence of roughly 600,000 Chinese nationals studying at U.S. colleges, saying their tuition revenue underpins the financial viability of many institutions. In a Fox News interview aired late Monday, Lutnick told host Laura Ingraham that eliminating the cohort would force “the bottom 15 percent of universities and colleges” to shut their doors, as domestic students would migrate to higher-ranked schools, leaving lower-tier campuses without sufficient enrollment or funds. Ingraham pressed Lutnick on whether admitting such a large number of foreign students from a geopolitical rival is compatible with an “America First” policy. Lutnick countered that until the broader higher-education financing model is reformed, international enrollment remains critical to preserving capacity and jobs across the sector. His remarks sparked fresh debate over the economic and national-security implications of U.S. universities’ reliance on full-tuition overseas students, particularly those from China, the largest source of foreign enrollment.