Trump administration halts scheduling of new student visa appointments
US eyes expanding social media vetting for student visas
Already scheduled student visa appointments can proceed
Trump administration has sought to revoke student visas
By Humeyra Pamuk
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the cable that the department plans to issue updated guidance on social media vetting of student and exchange visitor applicants after a review is completed and advised consular sections to halt the scheduling of such visa appointments.
The move comes as the Trump administration has sought to ramp up deportations and revoke student visas as part of its wide-ranging efforts to fulfill his hardline immigration agenda.
In the cable, first reported by Politico, Rubio said appointments that have already been scheduled can proceed under the current guidelines, but available appointments not already taken should be pulled down.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
'The Department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor (F, M, J) visa applicants, and based on that review, plans to issue guidance on expanded social media vetting for all such applicants,' the cable said.
The expanded social media vetting will require consular sections to modify their operations, processes and allocation of resources, according to the cable, which advises the sections going forward to take into consideration the workload and resource requirements of each case before scheduling them.
The cable also advises consular sections to remain focused on services for U.S. citizens, immigrant visas and fraud prevention.
Trump administration officials have said student visa and green card holders are subject to deportation over their support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza, calling their actions a threat to U.S. foreign policy and accusing them of being pro-Hamas.
Trump's critics have called the effort an attack on free speech rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
A Tufts University student from Turkey was held for over six weeks in an immigration detention center in Louisiana after co-writing an opinion piece criticizing her school's response to Israel's war in Gaza. She was released from custody after a federal judge granted her bail.
Last week, the Trump administration moved to revoke Harvard's ability to enroll international students. Those roughly 6,800 students make up about 27% of Harvard's total enrollment.
The Republican president's administration has moved to undermine the financial stability and global standing of the nation's oldest and wealthiest university after it pushed back on government demands for vast changes to its policies.
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IOL News
3 hours ago
- IOL News
What did the Trump-Ramaphosa meeting tell us about the image of SA and its leaders?
A video is played as US President Donald Trump meets with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington last Wednesday. The meeting was amid tensions over Washington's resettlement of white Afrikaners that the US president claims are the victims of "genocide." Trump criticised EFF leader Julius Malema and the "Kill the Boer" chant, citing it as evidence of targeted violence against white Afrikaner farmers. Image: Jim WATSON / AFP THE much-anticipated meeting between our President Cyril Ramaphosa and his counterpart in the United States, President Donald Trump, lived up to expectations, with the latter turning up the heat on his guests. By the admission of our delegation, South Africa is a very dangerous place because of rampant crime and lawlessness. While the jury is still out as to whether Ramaphosa succeeded in his attempts to reset the strained bilateral relations, what is clear is that the meeting gave the international community the impression that South African leaders are failing in their constitutional duty to protect citizens and govern the country. The result is that our pride as a beacon of hope in Africa is now hurt. The South African government came across as inept and lacking the political will to deal decisively with the scourge of violent crime, mass unemployment, and racial intolerance, to name a few crises. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading We are not yet privy to what was discussed behind closed doors and the deals that were made. What will be remembered about the meeting is Trump's wild and unsubstantiated claims of genocide suffered by Afrikaners and his display of brute power over Ramaphosa in front of the cameras. One could easily tell that Ramaphosa, like Ukraine's Zelensky went to the White House with a begging bowl. Unlike Zelensky, though, Ramaphosa went out of his way to massage the errant Trump's ego and thus came across as submissive; suffice it to say that some people would argue that he was being diplomatic. However, the big takeaway and the elephant in the room has got to be the painful admission from the South African delegation of the government's helplessness in the fight against rampant crime. This helplessness was in full display in 2021 during the looting spree after former President Zuma was arrested. To date, not even a single mastermind behind the 2021 riots has been successfully prosecuted. Similarly, those fingered by the Zondo Commission of Inquiry have not been prosecuted, suggesting that there's no political will to deal decisively with corruption and wrongdoing. This raises the question: what does this tell us about the image of South Africa and its leaders? The image of South Africa that Trump portrayed and that the delegation conceded to was of a lawless country whose government cannot protect its citizens from violent crime. In recent years, more and more South Africans are living in fear of political assassinations, hijackings, extortionists, burglars, armed robbers, kidnappers, and taxi violence. What exacerbates South Africa's problems are its porous borders and corrupt officials managing the borders. Lawlessness and the lack of political will to combat crime in South Africa are attracting criminals across the continent and from abroad to come and operate in the country with impunity. Crime in South Africa permeates every aspect of life, and it undermines good governance, efficient economic management, public safety, social order, and compliance with the law. The result is that South Africa is increasingly becoming an unattractive destination for foreign direct investment and international tourists. No wonder our domestic economy is struggling to grow and create much-needed jobs. What this means is that the problems of high unemployment and poverty are not going away soon, and crime is likely to continue. While Trump might not have succeeded in proving the genocide case, he appeared to succeed in making the South African delegation concede that crime, across the board, is out of control and the government is failing in its constitutional duty to protect its citizens. South Africa's businessman, Johann Rupert, was at pains explaining to Trump that 'crime affects everyone' and that South Africa needs America's 'help to stop this awful killing….' Interestingly, Rupert made the point that South Africa needs to fix its wobbly economy to end what he labels the culture of 'dependency and lawlessness.' The portrayal of South Africa as a country that cannot fix its problems does not bode well for its aspirations as a regional leader in Africa. South Africa styles and markets itself as a 'bridge' and a getaway into the African continent. Its membership of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and the G20 makes South Africa see itself as a spokesperson for and leader of Africa. This begs the question: Is South Africa fit and fully equipped to be a regional leader if its government cannot provide domestic leadership? The idea that economic problems, such as high unemployment among the youth and poverty, are to blame for intolerable levels of crime is not convincing. There are many poorer countries in Africa without high levels of crime. The difference is that there are consequences for breaking the law in many African states. In countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, there is a political will to hold lawbreakers accountable. Ramaphosa's cute move to dispel the notion of genocide: In an attempt to debunk and send a message that there is no genocide of Afrikaners, Ramaphosa 's entourage comprised prominent Afrikaners such as golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen as well as businessman Johann Rupert and John Steenhuizen, a member of Ramaphosa's GNU Cabinet. Even the presence of prominent Afrikaners appeared not to be enough evidence to convince Trump that the South African government is not discriminating against whites, in general, and Afrikaners, in particular. It should be remembered that the GNU has passed three laws that white political parties vehemently opposed, that is, the BELA bill, the NHI bill, and the Expropriation bill. In this context, Trump came to the meeting wanting to put pressure on Ramaphosa to do more to accommodate the interests of the white population. This could explain why Trump saw the multi-racial composition of South Africa's delegation to the US as superficial and condescending. The Malema factor: In making his case of a genocide in South Africa, Trump played a video of the EFF's Julius Malema chanting 'Kill the Boer, Kill the farmer' and even former president Zuma singing about shooting Afrikaners. Trump then baselessly claimed that 'they take the land. They kill the farmer. And nothing happens to them.' There is no doubt that these slogans and songs about killing Afrikaners do constitute hate speech and incite violence, even though the courts have found otherwise. It was quite embarrassing to see our prominent leaders utter such venomous words at a time when South Africans should be forging racial tolerance and unity. Without realising it, Trump gave Malema the attention he craves and the status of a leader who stands up to the 'imperialist' West. Malema might have looked bad in the eyes of the Western audience for shouting hateful slogans, but among his sympathizers, he is now the real deal, who is feared by Western leaders. The slogan, 'Kill the Boer, Kill the farmer,' has a long history in South Africa, and it is associated with the ANC during the anti-apartheid struggle. How embarrassing it could have been for Ramaphosa had he been seen next to Zuma singing a song about shooting Afrikaners, since the video Trump played showed Zuma wearing an ANC golf shirt while still the president of the ANC. So what message does it send to the world when prominent leaders in South Africa, including its then state president Zuma, sing about shooting and killing members of a minority group? The governing ANC has never denounced this awful slogan. This is the same ANC government that accused Israel of genocide but tolerates leaders who advocate for the killing of a racial minority. I guess this is the hypocrisy Trump sought to expose. No wonder no meaningful racial reconciliation has happened in South Africa. Can one then blame those Afrikaners who recently emigrated to the US? Zakhele Collison Ndlovu Image: File Zakhele Collison Ndlovu is a political analyst at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media. THE POST
IOL News
3 hours ago
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WATCH: Elon Musk's bizarre departure from Trump's administration - with a black eye
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IOL News
4 hours ago
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Transgender teen competes in California high school athletics championships despite protests and Donald Trump criticism
CONTROVERSY Transgender teen AB Hernandez sparked controversy and rule changes while competing in California State Track & Field Championships amid protests and political backlash most notably US President Donald Trump. Picture:/AFP On Friday, a small plane circled the stadium pulling a banner that read: "No boys in girls sports!" Hernandez's participation at the meeting has been the subject of intense controversy, with the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) scrambling to adjust competition rules this week as anger grew on all sides. AB Hernandez, 16, was the top qualifier for Saturday's finals in the girls' long jump and girls' high jump at the California State Track & Field Championships in Clovis, outside of Fresno. A transgender high school athlete shrugged off scattered protests and heated criticism from President Donald Trump to reach the finals of multiple events at California's state championships on Friday. CIF Updates Rules on Trans Athlete Participation and Medal Allocation On Tuesday, CIF officials announced that entry rules had been modified so that biological females were not excluded from competition due to the participation of trans athletes. A day later, CIF issued another rule change -- specifically targeting events in which Hernandez was qualified to compete -- which mandates that any athlete who misses out on a podium finish behind a trans athlete would still receive a medal. "If necessary, in the high jump, triple jump and long jump events at the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships, a biological female student-athlete who would have earned a specific placement on the podium will also be awarded the medal for that place and the results will be reflected in the recording of the event," the federation announced in a statement. The last-minute rules changes came after days of controversy which have included Hernandez being targeted by Trump on social media. The US President, who did not mention Hernandez by name, threatened to withhold federal funding from California in future if she was allowed to compete in this week's championships, which got under way on Friday with finals due on Saturday. "As a female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable. THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS," Trump wrote. "Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered is a totally ridiculous situation!!!" Trump's comment was followed by an announcement from the US Department of Justice that it had launched an investigation into whether California had violated Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. Local and state officials have also criticised Hernandez's participation, calling for the teenager to be prevented from competing. At a press conference on Thursday, Clovis mayor Diane Pearce called for CIF to block Hernandez's participation following their rule amendments earlier in the week. "Today, I call on CIF to do the right thing. Updates one and two were not enough, but the third time can be the charm," Pearce said. "CIF still has a chance to make it right by removing biological males from girls' sports." AFP
