The law of unintended consequences is a principle that, when applied to politics, describes what happens when the government passes a law which creates outcomes which were not expected or foreseen. A 1994 article in the Columbia Law Review provided historical examples of unintended consequences related to laws passed by the federal government. A 2025 report on Forbes.com described how the federal government has recently displayed a shock and awe approach while creating new policies. Such an approach to creating policies could result in unintended consequences, and many college counseling centers are experiencing unintended consequences related to providing services for international students.
Prohibition Of Targeted Mental Health Services
A 2025 report on MSN.com described how the federal government recently accused certain schools of failing to protect and adequately support Jewish students after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. These accusations suggested that due to the unique impact of the attacks, Jewish students needed specialized support. However, as outlined in a report on Forbes.com this past January, because of state laws regarding DEI bans, many counseling centers were prohibited from providing specialized mental health support targeted to Jewish students. In general, many counseling centers no longer offer targeted mental health support to any specific ethnic group. This is significant because, due to current global events, certain groups of international students are more vulnerable to distress than other groups of international students. Since these vulnerable groups of international students often share an ethnic identity, many counseling centers won’t target mental health services to them.
Ethical Dilemmas about Client Abandonment
As outlined in a 2024 report by Psychology Today, many ethical codes for mental health professions state that providers prioritize client welfare and not abandoned them with an unexpected end to treatment. Many international students are experiencing high level symptoms which can be addressed by campus counseling centers. However, ethical dilemmas occur if/when an international student with significant mental health concerns is given notice of an immediate visa revoke. Earlier this year, Inside Higher Education provided a tracking report of international students who had their student visas revoked. What this report does not track is how many of these students experienced suicide ideation, self-harm compulsions, or were receiving successful treatment for a serious mental health concern prior to their visas being revoked. Ethical codes encourage campus counseling centers not to abandon these clients; however, in these cases, federal policies might immediately terminate therapy, leaving providers little recourse because most providers cannot practice outside of their state lines.
According to a 2022 article by the Iowa Law Review, the U.S. Congress has historically acknowledged the law of unintended consequences through a process called legislative fixes. This process is designed to address the unintended consequences of major bills prior to the courts being involved. The report by Inside Higher Education indicated that, as of last month, the federal government is fighting 65 lawsuits related to student visas of international students. This high number might reflect how many recent policies did not go through the legislative process of the U.S. Congress. Regardless of the outcomes of these lawsuits, it’s important to acknowledge the unintended consequences that federal policies are having on the ability of campus counseling centers to provide services to international students.
