State Department says it will 'aggressively' revoke visas for Chinese students
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday the U.S. will begin "aggressively" revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.
"Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields," Rubio wrote in a statement.
The State Department will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.
In March, House Republicans introduced the Stop Chinese Communist Prying by Vindicating Intellectual Safeguards in Academia Act, also known as the Stop CCP VISAs Act.
In an interview with FOX Business on May 12, Florida Senator Ashley Moody criticized providing student visas to Chinese nationals, citing a Stanford University report that uncovered the Chinese Communist Party's alleged activity on U.S. college campuses.
The report, published by the Stanford Review, detailed an incident where a man posing as a Stanford student targeted women at the university to gather intelligence for the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).
"How can we keep offering 300,000 student visas to Chinese nationals every year when we KNOW they are legally required to gather intelligence for the CCP? The answer is simple: we can't," Moody wrote in a post on X. "@StanfordReview's report on CCP espionage on campus should shock everyone and verify what I have been saying. We need to pass my STOP CCP Visas Act to protect our national security."
Along with the new Chinese national policy, Rubio announced on Wednesday new visa restrictions on foreigners who are "complicit" in censoring Americans.
SEVERAL UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS HAVE VISAS REVOKED
"For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights," Rubio wrote in the post. "Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans."
"Free speech is essential to the American way of life – a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority," he added.
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The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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