According to a survey conducted by the journal Nature, 75% of American scientists are considering leaving the United States because of the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.
It is noted that about 1650 respondents took part in the survey. Of these, more than 1200 scientists are serious about moving to Canada or one of the EU countries. This is especially true for graduate students who are just starting their careers in science.
In particular, out of 690 graduate students who responded to the survey, 548 — are considering moving from the United States to another country due to the actions of the Trump administration. The policies of the current US government have led to a reduction in research funding and have brought much of the research activity funded by the state budget to a halt.
In accordance with the initiatives of the billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE)Tens of thousands of federal employees, including a large number of scientists, lost their jobs. Some of them have been reinstated in their positions by court order. However, Musk is threatening them with new dismissals.
The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants and academic researchers has caused a significant number of American scientists to worry about uncertainty and obstacles to their research. The publication’s article on the results of the survey notes that most respondents have plans to move to other countries where they have familiar colleagues, friends, or relatives.
Some of the scientists who moved to the United States for work plan to return to their homeland. It is emphasized that a large number of scientists had no plans to relocate until Trump’s administration began cutting research funding and laying off researchers.
«This is my home — I really love my country. But a lot of my mentors told me to leave right now,» says the US university graduate student working in plant genomics and agriculture.
She lost her government research support and scholarship after the Trump administration stopped funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Her supervisor found funds to support her in the short term. At the same time, she is desperately trying to apply for a teaching assistant position.
She also considered applying for a doctoral scholarship abroad because of her interest in agriculture. After losing her state funding and watching her colleagues get laid off, she was increasingly inclined to do so. She said she is diligently looking for a new place in Europe, Australia, and Mexico. She hopes to return to the United States someday, but the Trump administration has made it clear that her area of expertise, global food systems, is not currently a priority for the U.S. government.
According to another scientist, the Trump administration’s cutoff of funding for research projects has been terrible for scientists.
«The principal investigators I have spoken to believe they can weather this storm. We, as junior researchers, don’t have that luxury — this is a critical moment in our careers, and in a matter of weeks it has become the most relevant», — the scientist emphasizes.
The researcher is a native of the United States and is engaged in research in the field of medicine. He is currently trying to find a job in Canada. When his National Institutes of Health grant was canceled, he sent an email to a colleague in Canada who is a department head at a local university. He and his wife, who is also a scientist, are currently interviewing for a job in the country and hope to move by the end of the year. According to him, academic institutions in other countries are eagerly taking advantage of the Trump administration’s policies.
«From what I hear from where we are in contact and from other people who want to get a job abroad, many universities in these countries see an opportunity that is unique. I think it started as «Can we hire a few people?» and has evolved to «How many people can we take?» — because the demand is there, — emphasizes the American scholar.
There are also those who are not going to leave, as the US has the best base for scientific research. But a large number of the 1200 respondents confirmed that they plan to leave the country because of the problems they see in the future.
«I am a faculty member and want to stay as long as I can to support my lab and students, but if the NIH is drastically cut, we may not have a choice,» another scientist emphasized.
NYT: Elon Musk installed a gaming PC in the office of DOGE — the department that looks for inefficient employees in the US government
Source: Nature
