SACRAMENTO, the United States, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Restrictive immigration policies and dramatic research funding cuts under U.S. President Donald Trump's administration are pushing talented researchers toward opportunities abroad.

More than 1,200 U.S.-based scientists, three-quarters of the total respondents in a recent Nature journal survey, indicated they're considering relocating to Europe or Canada due to the current political climate, signaling a potentially massive departure of scientific talent.

Early-career researchers appeared most likely to leave, with nearly 80 percent of postgraduate scientists considering exit plans, the survey showed, noting this trend was particularly concerning as it could eliminate a generation of American scientific talent.

The exodus stems from two converging factors: tightening immigration restrictions and unprecedented cuts to research funding across federal agencies in the United States.

"The massive cuts to funding are irrational and will greatly diminish the ability of the United States to provide world-leading research, and this will impact the health and national security of our country," Daniel Cox, distinguished emeritus professor of physics at the University of California, Davis, told Xinhua recently.

On the immigration front, the Trump administration has issued multiple executive orders targeting foreign-born scientists and engineers. These measures included curtailing humanitarian parole programs, restricting border flows, limiting legal immigration avenues, and increasing deportation efforts.

The impact on the scientific community has been immediate.

According to a report by National Public Radio (NPR), foreign-born workers account for approximately half of the doctoral-level scientists and engineers in the United States. Still, the Trump administration wanted to make it harder for them to obtain H-1B visas. Immigration experts warned that the scarcity of these visas may prompt top foreign researchers to seek opportunities in other countries.

Simultaneously, many news media outlets have reported that research funding has faced dramatic cuts. Since Trump's January inauguration, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which provides the bulk of biomedical research funding in the United States, has seen funding abruptly reduced by billions of dollars, with many grant decisions placed on hold.

The administration's actions against scientific agencies extend beyond budgets. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has already closed offices, including its Office of the Chief Scientist, and fired over 20 workers. Other agencies are preparing plans, with reports indicating the NIH will cut 1,200 people -- about 6 percent of its staff.

An open letter signed by almost 2,000 scientists, including dozens of Nobel Prize winners, warned that America's scientific lead is being "decimated."

The letter published Monday describes a "climate of fear" throughout the research community, saying it pushed researchers to remove their names from publications, abandon studies, and rewrite proposals to eliminate terms like "climate change" that agencies now flag as objectionable.

"There's a fire sale on American academics right now," Carl Bergstrom, a biology professor at the University of Washington, told STAT News. Scientists fear the current political climate undermines researchers' resolve to pursue academic careers in the United States.

According to an NPR report, countries are capitalizing on this uncertainty. France has been particularly aggressive in recruiting American scientists. Aix-Marseille University has launched the "Safe Place For Science" program to support about 15 American scientists with up to 15 million euros (about 16.2 million U.S. dollars) over three years.

The initiative has already received more than 150 applications. Another French university, the engineering school Ecole Centrale de Marseille, has allocated 3 million euros to finance research projects that can no longer continue in the United States.

Spain's Atrae initiative provides grants exceeding 1 million U.S. dollars per researcher, while Canada has streamlined immigration pathways for skilled professionals through programs like Express Entry and the Global Talent Stream.

"You come to a country where the social majority trusts its scientists," said Spain's Science Minister Diana Morant during the launch of Atrae's third edition in March 2025.

The economic implications of this scientific exodus could be severe and long-lasting. A Duke University and Harvard University study found that one-quarter of all engineering and technology-related companies founded in the United States from 1995 to 2005 had at least one immigrant founder, producing 52 billion U.S. dollars in sales and employing 450,000 workers.

The impact of innovation is equally significant, particularly in leading technology sectors. According to the Silicon Valley Competitiveness and Innovation Project, at least 57 percent of Silicon Valley workers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields with bachelor's degrees or higher were born outside the United States.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Technology Review reported last month that America risks losing its innovation engine, which has driven 85 percent of economic growth since 1945. Labs nationwide are canceling cancer trials and artificial intelligence projects, while Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania are freezing hiring. Enditem

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