Newsman: The U.S. will “aggressively revoke” visas for Chinese students, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday. Rubio’s announcement suggested the effort would focus on people with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or those studying sensitive subjects. However,He did not specify how many students would lose their ability to study in the U.S..
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” he said in a statement. “We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”
Rubio’s targeting of the students is the latest in a series of moves in Washington to address the perceived national security threat posed by China through academia.
The State Department’s targeting of Chinese students reflects how worsening geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China have poisoned the two nations’ long-standing educational ties.
It also appeared to catch even some in the government off-guard. A consular official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a ban on talking to journalists, expressed surprise at the directive, saying U.S. embassies have received no instructions about it.
About 277,000 Chinese students studied in the U.S. last year, making them the second largest group of foreign students in the U.S., after people from India.
Even if just a threat, Rubio’s announcement is likely to decisively end the popularity of U.S. universities and colleges for Chinese students.
It would also hurt U.S. institutions, which have come to rely on foreign students to help offset the cost of providing financial aid to Americans. And it comes as President Donald Trump exerts pressure on colleges and universities to address allegations of anti-Semitism by threatening to withhold federal funding and grants.
An exodus of Chinese students may also deprive the U.S. of skills and expertise that are valuable to the economy, especially in the tech sector.
The House passed legislation earlier this month that will deny Department of Homeland Security funding to U.S. colleges and universities that partner with Chinese academic institutions linked to Beijing’s security apparatus — a distinction that includes major institutions such as Duke University.
Higher education has long been a focus of the Department of Justice’s probes of foreign espionage operations — though not without controversy. The DOJ’s now-defunct China Initiative, a program launched in the first Trump administration targeting Chinese academics at U.S. universities, was accused of racial profiling and conducting flawed investigative work.
The move appears to be part of Trump’s effort to shake up higher education, especially for international students. The administration on Tuesday paused interviews for new student visa applicants as it weighs expanding its social media screening throughout the vetting process.
Trump at the White House on Wednesday floated capping international student levels at 15 percent at Harvard University, which the administration has singled out for punishment as part of its broader attacks on elite institutions of higher education. Foreigners comprised 27.6 percent of the university’s total enrollment in the 2024-2025 school year.
International students have long been a major economic boon. During the 2023-2024 school year, they accounted for a $43.8 billion shot in the arm for the U.S. economy and supported nearly 400,000 jobs.
Rubio’s statement could further stunt financing for many of the same universities whose pocketbooks Trump has already come after. The White House has frozen billions in federal funding for some of the country’s top institutions, deemed too liberal or anti-Semitic by Trump. His clash with Harvard has seen the administration push to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status and block it from accepting any international students.
