Foreign Minister Marco Rubio said on Wednesday – The latest restrictions On foreign students.
“Under the leadership of President Trump, the US State Department will work with the Ministry of Internal Security to cancel the visas strongly for Chinese students, including the connections of the Chinese Communist Party or study in the critical areas,” Rubio wrote in a statement.
Rubio also said the government “will review the visa standards to enhance auditing in all future visa requests from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”
China is the second largest country of origin for international students, only behind India. In the academic year 2023-24, more than 270,000 international students from China were formed, and they formed nearly a quarter of foreign students in the United States.
This procedure comes at the time of intensifying the relations between American higher education and China. Republicans in the House of Representatives pressed this month at Duke University to reduce its relations with a Chinese university, saying that it allowed Chinese students to access research funded by the federal government in Duke.
Last year, Republicans in the House of Representatives issued a report warning that hundreds of millions of dollars in defense financing were searching for partnerships related to the Chinese government, providing “access to the rear doors to the very foreign opponent nation that these capabilities are necessary for protection.”
This announcement came a day after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed embassies and consulates all over the world to temporarily stop the new student visa interviews, in a cable obtained by CBS news. The cable said that the administration is preparing to “examine expanded social media” for visa providers.
The political changes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs added to the uncertainty for international students in America, who faced intense audit by the Trump administration.
The government tried to cancel the legal status of thousands of international students, many of whom seemed to draw a federal audit Simple legal violations Despite the presence of a federal judge I stopped this practice. And the administration has He sought to deport Many student activists supporting Palestinians under a law allowing the abolition of visas if someone raises “negative consequences for foreign policy.”
Earlier this week, Trump Administration Try to stop All international students’ records at Harvard University. judge This step was preventedPart of a A wider battle Between the government and the Ivy League because of its dealings with the campus protests.
President Trump said on Wednesday that Harvard, whose current population is more than 25 % international, limits this percentage to about 15 %.
“I want to make sure that foreign students are people who can love our country,” said Mr. Trump.
