We are living in strange times. The US has elected the most authoritarian ruler in the country’s history, while the EU has been split by the Brexit vote. Against this background, internationalization is promoted as a top priority in many universities around the world. International students are said to be more lucrative than home students, and university profit margins increase in proportion to their ratio. I argue here that we should avoid treating international students as commodities and instead value more highly the diversity they bring to higher education.