Donald Trump's move to freeze student visas ‘reckless', says Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi
US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi opposed the Donald Trump administration for freezing student visa interviews amid reports of bringing severe social media vetting, calling it "a reckless decision.
In a statement, Raja Krishnamoorthi emphasised that international students are vital to America's economic strength and national security.
Krishnamoorthi said that shutting international students out is a "strategic blunder" and weakens US global competitiveness. "International students are drawn to our shores by the American Dream and the values that define us: freedom of thought, opportunity through education, and the strength of diverse perspectives. Shutting them out is not only discriminatory -- it's a strategic blunder. It weakens our global competitiveness and risks surrendering America's leadership in innovation to nations that welcome the world's talent with open arms. We must remain a country that opens doors to those who seek to learn, contribute, and help build a better future -- not one that closes them out of fear," he said in the statement.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered US embassies and consular offices to stop scheduling new visa interviews for student applicants as the Donald Trump administration is considering strict vetting of applicants' social media profiles, Politico reported.
Earlier, Donald Trump doubled down on his attacks against Harvard University by suggesting that the institution cap the number of foreign students it admits at 15 per cent.
Stating that Harvard University admits almost 31 percent of foreign students which some are from "areas of the world that are very radicalised", Trump said, "Why would 31 percent? Why would a number be so big? I think they (Harvard University) should have a cap of maybe around 15 per cent. We have people that want to go to Harvard and other schools but they can't get in because we have foreign students there."
"I want to make sure that foreign students are people that can love our country. We don't want to see shopping centres explode. We don't want to see the kind of riots that you had, and I'll tell you what, many of those students didn't go anywhere, many of those students were troublemakers caused by the radical left." Trump added.
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