❓WHAT HAPPENED: The State Department announced the resumption of student visa application interviews with new social media vetting protocols.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The U.S. State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement was made on Wednesday, with immediate plans to resume visa interviews.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision.” – U.S. State Department.
🎯IMPACT: Stricter vetting aims to prevent foreigners with anti-American or violent ideologies from entering the U.S. education system.
The State Department will resume granting student visas, but with heightened social media protocols to monitor possible support for terrorism or “a history of political activism” associated with violence or anti-American views. The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it would soon start scheduling student visa application interviews after all new applications were frozen last month. Potential exchange students will be asked to make their social media profiles public to allow for vetting.
“We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security,” the State Department said. “Under new guidance, we will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting, including online presence, of all student and exchange visitor applicants.”
The Trump administration has expressed concern about foreign students who have engaged in violent anti-Semitic protests on campuses across the country, as well as Chinese students connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “Every visa adjudication is a national security decision,” the department’s announcement continued, adding: “The United States must be vigilant during the visa issuance process to ensure that those applying for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans and our national interests, and that all applicants credibly establish their eligibility for the visa sought, including that they intend to engage in activities consistent with the terms for their admission.”
Meanwhile, a cable to American diplomats instructed them to search the social media accounts of students for “any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, government, institutions or founding principles of the United States,” “advocacy for, aid or support for foreign terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security” and “support for unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence.” One specific terrorist group they were urged to watch out for was Hamas. The diplomats were also told to determine if “applicants who demonstrate a history of political activism” were associated with violence and asked to “consider the likelihood they would continue such activity in the United States.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the United States does not want to import anti-American agitators to disrupt and undermine the education system. The resumption of student visa application interviews comes after President Donald J. Trump announced last week that the United States would continue to allow Chinese students into the country as part of a trade deal.
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