Trump resumes visa applications for international students, but with increased vetting
The US State Department announced on Wednesday that it is ending the pause on visa applications for foreign students.
However, the process, which has been suspended since May, will include intensive online vetting, including requiring applicants to set all of their social media privacy settings to “public”.
The State Department said it needed to “ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests”.
The announcement also asserted that applicants need to prove that they would “engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission”, which is being seen as an attempt to deter students from participating in pro-Palestine activism on university campuses in the US.
On 25 March, the Trump administration arrested Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk after her profile was posted on a pro-Israel doxxing website.
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Ozturk had been targeted for writing an opinion article in a student newspaper the year before, criticising Tufts University's response to a pro-divestment vote from the student senate.
Ozturk was released from detention in May, but her detention set a precedent for a larger crackdown by the Trump administration on foreign students.
In April, the visas of thousands of international students were revoked seemingly indiscriminately. Several students went into hiding or self-deported over fears that they would be arrested.
The Trump administration abruptly backtracked on the decision to revoke visas weeks later.
Wednesday’s move to review the social media accounts of foreign students is also not the first time the Trump administration has used social media vetting to monitor international students.
On 9 April, the Trump administration announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be screening the social media accounts of international students at universities affiliated with “antisemitic activity”.
The State Department also reportedly told consulates to prioritise applicants hoping to attend a college where less than 15 percent of the student body were international students.
On 28 May, US President Donald Trump asserted that Harvard University should cap international enrolment at 15 percent.
Chinese international students
Chinese international students have come under particular scrutiny from the Trump administration in recent months.
The 270,000 Chinese international students studying in the US make up around a quarter of the 1.1 million international students in the country.
On 28 May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the DHS would be working closely with the State Department to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students”.
Rubio’s statement singled out students “with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields”. It reflects accusations from the Trump administration that Chinese international students pose a national security risk.
Then, on 11 June, Trump backtracked on the plan to revoke visas for Chinese students.
He posted that the presence of Chinese international students “has always been good with me”.
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