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Over the past couple weeks, the U.S. government has unleashed a barrage of policies that would restrict the ability of Chinese students to study in the United States. These measures strike at a key pillar of U.S.-China relations, and they have generated intense anxiety among current and prospective Chinese exchange students. According to data from the Institute of International Education, between 2023 and 2024, there were 277,398 Chinese students studying in the U.S., generating over $14.2 billion for the American economy.
A cable signed last Tuesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered American embassies around the world to stop scheduling new appointments for student visas and announced an expansion of social-media vetting of student applicants. The week prior, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll international students, who currently make up 27 percent of Harvard’s total enrollment. Last Wednesday, the State Department announced it would “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” and “enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.” (On Thursday, a U.S. federal judge extended an order blocking the government measures related to Harvard.)
