Behind Trump's long campaign to target Chinese student visas

Politico

2 days ago

President Donald Trump's aides and allies have been laying the groundwork for his aggressive crackdown on Chinese student visas for years.
Trump vowed on the campaign trail in 2023 to ban 'Christian-hating communists, Marxists and socialists' from the country, expanding on efforts from his first administration to shut down China-funded Confucius Institutes on U.S. college campuses and prosecute Chinese scientific researchers and professors at American universities. MAGA allies on the Hill have introduced legislation to this effect in recent years. And during his first term, Trump officials even discussed the early iterations of the very policy Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled late Wednesday.
The plan to revoke the student visas is another example of a White House able to build on the policy foundation laid during Trump's first term — turbocharged by planning that took place in the president's four years away from Washington.
While work on student visas had been underway, the president and his aides considered that the timing of the clampdown may complicate a fragile trade truce with China. But the administration forged ahead anyway, said a White House official, granted anonymity to speak candidly about policy discussions.
'The president laid it out there in the campaign… when he says he's going to do something in the campaign, he actually tries to do it,' said Ken Cuccinelli, who served as Trump's deputy of Homeland Security during the first term.
'The reason people like me raised it in the first term is the reason you're hearing from Rubio — there are very real security reasons to not help the Chinese advance their position in technical fields, and certainly not anyone more closely associated with [the Chinese Communist Party].'
The policy released this week circulated among administration officials for months after Trump signed a day one executive order directing the secretary of State to review vetting and screening for immigrants coming to the U.S., including for visa holders. The administration is stacked with aides who have long been laser focused on cracking down on China's influence in U.S. institutions, including senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and Rubio. Both played key roles in finalizing this week's policy announcement across the White House and departments of Homeland Security and State, according to the White House official.
'It was only a matter of time,' the official said. 'It's something that's been so widely discussed for so long.'
Approximately 277,000 Chinese students studied in the U.S. last year, and it remains unclear how many will lose their ability to remain in the country. Rubio vowed to 'aggressively revoke' the visas and said the focus would be on people with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or those studying sensitive subjects.
'The Secretary made this decision in the administration's ongoing effort to protect our homeland from espionage and other hostile actions,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
The administration's action has further fueled tensions between China and the U.S., with Beijing condemning the policy as 'unreasonable' and one that 'damaged the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese students and disrupted the normal cultural exchanges between the two countries.' Last month, Trump placed a 145 percent tariff on Chinese goods but those were reduced to 30 percent when U.S. and Chinese officials reached a temporary agreement. China also reduced its tariffs on American goods to 10 percent from 125 percent.
The trade detente was already in jeopardy as the countries continue to engage in a growing supply chain standoff, with the U.S. this week curbing sales to China of critical U.S. technologies, including software used to make semiconductors. The latest move could further threaten the strained relationship.
The administration's student visa crackdown follows House passage of legislation to deny DHS funding to U.S. colleges and universities with Confucius Institutes or ties to Beijing's security apparatus. And Trump more broadly has targeted international students across the nation's higher education system, pausing interviews for new student visa applicants this week as it weighs expanding social media screening throughout the vetting process.
'They may be using a machete instead of a scalpel at this point,' said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that looks to restrict immigration. 'This is just an agenda item that's been pretty high on the list because of the security importance of it.'
The president's aides and allies view the visa revocations as the initial step in clamping down on Chinese influence in the U.S., with the White House official suggesting it could lead to a wider exclusion of international students from the country. Some allies are hopeful that the administration will next target funding for universities working with Chinese grad students, similar to what the House bill did.
'We have to take things one step at a time,' the White House official said. 'When you're trying to do something big, it's best to start small.'
Trump previewed this week's policy move almost two years ago at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, vowing to use Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to 'deny entry to all communists and Marxists.' U.S. immigration law already bars members of the Communist Party from becoming naturalized citizens or green card holders, but these rules don't apply to people in the U.S. on student or tourist visas.
'Those who come to enjoy our country must love our country,' Trump said. 'We're going to keep foreign, Christian-hating communists, Marxists and socialists out of America.'
But Trump allies have been planting the seeds for much longer. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in 2020 introduced legislation that sought to limit Chinese nationals from obtaining visas for STEM-related studies. The issue has continued to circulate in GOP circles.
Cotton applauded the administration's decision in a statement, saying 'China's use of students to spy on political dissidents and American researchers is a well-documented national security threat.'
Rubio, who introduced another bill alongside Cotton targeting visas for Chinese nationals in 2021, has long invested in the issue. While representing Florida in the U.S. Senate, he pressured local colleges to shut down their Confucius Institutes. He was vocal in his opposition to China, contending in 2022 it 'is the most formidable near-peer adversary our nation has ever faced.'
Andrew Atterbury contributed to this report.