Trump Offers Reassurance to Chinese Students Amid Visa Restrictions

President Donald Trump sought to calm fears among Chinese international students in the US on Friday, saying, “They’re going to be ok. It’s going to work out fine,” despite the administration’s recent crackdown on student visas.

This week, the Trump administration announced it would intensify efforts to revoke visas from Chinese students, particularly those studying in sensitive fields or with alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared the US would “aggressively revoke visas” and tighten visa application scrutiny for individuals from China and Hong Kong.

Trump explained the rationale behind the measures: “We just want to check out the individual students we have. And that’s true with all colleges.” The administration’s actions have sparked legal challenges, including a judge’s extension of a temporary block preventing Harvard from halting international student enrollments.

Harvard has refused to provide the government with a list of students under investigation, prompting Trump to say, “I don’t know why Harvard’s not giving us the list. There’s something going on because Harvard is not giving us a list. They ought to give us a list and get themselves out of trouble.”

The crackdown has drawn criticism from academia, with Harvard’s president Alan Garber receiving a standing ovation for urging universities to resist the administration’s pressure. Trump reiterated his expectations for international students: “We want people that can love our country and take care of our country and cherish our country.”

Chinese students make up about a quarter of all foreign students in the US, numbering more than 270,000 in the 2023-24 academic year, and contribute significantly to the US economy and research sectors.