7 days ago
Ohio could lose millions under Rubio's plan to revoke Chinese student visas
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will start 'aggressively' revoking Chinese students' visas; experts warn it likely won't pay off.
'Aggressively revoking individual students' visas simply on the ground of their national origin and their field of study is an unwise move, to say the least,' Zhiguo Xie, Ohio State instructor of Chinese linguistics and an expert in China and democracy, said.
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On May 28, Rubio announced the State Department and Department of Homeland Security will collaborate to revoke Chinese students' visas and said new visa applications from the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong will face additional scrutiny. According to Open Doors, a data collection service through the Institute of International Education supported by federal funding, 23.1% of Ohio's nearly 37,000 international students hail from China.
It's no small contribution. According to NAFSA: Association of International Educators, international students contributed $1.3 billion to Ohio's economy alone during the 2023-2024 school year. If each international student contributes the same amount to the economy, then Ohio would lose more than $300 million annually without Chinese students.
Ohio State professor Oded Shenkar, an expert in international strategy and China, called Rubio's announcement a 'tough call.' He said that although China poses a larger threat to national security than many people realize, the economic and talent losses would be difficult to manage. He said it's hard to determine who poses a threat, especially in a country where the government is closely intertwined with daily life.
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Shenkar said China incentivizes people who have studied and done well in the U.S. to move to China and share their knowledge at a high salary, allowing the country to make massive innovative strides. However, Shenkar said this happens across nationalities and is not limited to Chinese students. Shenkar pointed to American-born Charles Lieber, a former Harvard chemist who was convicted in 2023 of lying to federal agents about his ties to China and now teaches at a Chinese university.
'There's a lot of copying that is actually legal, and it's a great way to catch up, which is exactly what China has been doing through both legal and illegal ways,' Shenkar said.
Ohio State professor Christopher McKnight Nichols, an expert in U.S. foreign relations, said revoking student visas based on their passport's nationality is a 'major concern' and not the most effective way to protect American intellectual property.
'In my view, and as numerous studies make clear, some of the best paths forward for enhancing peaceful diplomacy and connections between nations, and in minimizing tensions, come in what is known as 'people-to-people' diplomacy, which often productively involves crosscultural exchanges such as by students and scholars involved in higher education,' Nichols said.
Shenkar said many Chinese students also choose to stay in the U.S. and contribute to STEM fields, including those that could theoretically strengthen U.S. security. Xie said losing international students would pose a major detriment to American innovation, and that it was 'inconceivable' the U.S. would deem anyone a threat because of their major.
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'This country's innovation and competitiveness in the past several decades is partly attributable to talents from foreign countries, including China,' Xie said. 'In the face of the new announcement, Chinese families and students will most likely consider other countries such as Australia, Canada and U.K. as their study abroad destinations.'
Even when Chinese students do not join the American workforce, they support jobs while living in the U.S. NAFSA found international students supported 10,937 jobs in Ohio last year, mostly in higher education, accommodations and dining service sectors.
Many of these jobs come to central Ohio, as Ohio State University hosts a large portion of the state's Chinese students. Around 54% of OSU's international students are Chinese, driving most of the university's international program.
An Ohio State spokesperson said the university is closely monitoring federal updates and sharing them with students when they can. The spokesperson also pointed to a letter from the American Council on Education, where Ohio State President Ted Carter sits on the board. The letter pushes back against Rubio's announcement and is supported by many other higher education groups, including several that Ohio State is a part of.
'We are concerned that imposing a broad pause on all student visas would send a message that our nation no longer welcomes talented students and scholars from other countries,' the letter reads. 'Such a pause will also hinder our ability to compete for the world's best and brightest minds to study in the United States.'
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