United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday asserted that the US will commence revoking visas of Chinese students, “including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” He also said that the department would “aggressively” revoke visas and revise the guidelines for future visa applications from China and Hong Kong.
The statement followed the US government’s intensive crackdown on international students and universities. According to reports, the US government had halted the new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants on Tuesday. The rules require a more thorough vetting of the applicants’ social media activity.
China accounts for over 2,75,000 international students in the US as of 2023/2024, according to the Institute of International Education.
Trump’s directive for Harvard
The move comes after the Trump administration’s directive to cut the university’s federal funding while also curtailing its ability to intake foreign students. He had also directed the institutes to share information about foreign students with the government.
Trump has imposed these restrictions on Harvard as its leaders did not meet the administrations’ directives to crack down on the Pro Palestine protest, which they have labelled as antisemitic and also exert control over the university’s academia.
Recently, the US president also asked for a cap of 15 percent on foreign students in order to “make Harvard great again”.
Trump asserted in a statement that, “I think they should have a cap of maybe around 15 per cent, not 31 per cent. We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools, but they can’t get in because we have foreign students there.”
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had earlier arrested and attempted to deport international students who had participated in Pro-Palestinian protests.
