Trump Admin Pauses New Student Visas as it Mulls More Social Media Vetting
New Delhi: In an escalation of the fight US president Donald Trump has begun against higher education institutions in his country, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered new appointments for students visas to be halted while the Trump administration considers an expansion of its social media vetting process for all student visa applicants.
The internal state department communication was first reported by Politico, which also reported that the administration ordered US Embassies and consular sections to pause scheduling new interviews for student visa applicants as it prepares for new vetting demands.
Rubio sent the cable on May 27, Politico reports.
“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued septel [separate telegram], which we anticipate in the coming days,” the cable states, according to the report.
The Politico report highlights that the parameters of such social media vetting are unknown, but makes it clear that some degree of social media vetting is already in place.
It notes: "The administration had earlier imposed some social media screening requirements, but those were largely aimed at returning students who may have participated in protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza."
The Trump administration has already penalised or jailed student visa holders over pro-Palestinian activism or support. Indian origin scholars have not been exempted.
Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian former PhD student at Columbia University had her visa revoked after the US Department of Homeland Security accused her of “advocating for violence and terrorism."
Indian scholar Badar Khan Suri, who was arrested on March 17 while he was a postdoctoral fellow at the US’s Georgetown University, was freed from a Texas detention centre after a court order earlier this month. Suri’s lawyers have said that he was targeted “for speech in support of Palestinian rights and family ties to Gaza”.
India had officially said in March that neither Srinivasan nor Suri had sought assistance from its missions and emphasised that Indian citizens abroad must comply with local laws.
A Turkish scholar enrolled at the Tufts University, Rümeysa Öztürk, was held for over six weeks in an immigration detention centre in Louisiana after co-authoring an opinion piece criticising Tufts' response to Israel's attacks on Gaza. She was granted bail by a federal judge.
“If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason you are coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalising universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus – we’re not going to give you a visa,” Rubio said at the time, according to Bloomberg.
The White House has also attempted to ban Harvard University from enrolling foreign students. This was blocked by a judge.
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