In a sweeping new initiative designed to curb foreign influence and reinforce U.S. sovereignty, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the Trump administration will begin aggressively revoking visas of Chinese students, particularly those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or those studying in critical national security fields.
Has there ever been a Secretary of State with less authority to conduct foreign policy than Marco Rubio?
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 1:14 PM
The announcement comes amid growing bipartisan concern over CCP infiltration on U.S. college campuses, where student visa programs have reportedly become a channel for intelligence gathering and influence operations. Rubio stated that the State Department, working alongside the Department of Homeland Security, would move swiftly to tighten oversight and revoke existing visas as needed.
“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 declared.
The administration will also revise visa criteria to heighten scrutiny of new applications from China and Hong Kong, targeting academic areas deemed sensitive to national security, intellectual property, and defense technology.
Marco Rubio had someone arrested & jailed over an op-ed.
— Billy Binion (@billybinion.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Rubio’s policy aligns closely with the Stop CCP VISAs Act, introduced by House Republicans in March. The bill, which stands for Stop Chinese Communist Prying by Vindicating Intellectual Safeguards in Academia, calls for severe limitations on student visas issued to Chinese nationals, especially those studying STEM-related fields or linked to Chinese state institutions.
Marco Rubio literally had a student kidnapped off the street for co-authoring an oped criticizing her university.
And now he’s complaining about censorship?
— Mike Masnick (@mmasnick.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 12:35 PM
U.S. Senator Ashley Moody (R-Fla.) recently amplified the call, citing a Stanford Review report that exposed an alleged Chinese spy operation on campus. A man posing as a Stanford student was reportedly targeting female students to gather intelligence for China’s Ministry of State Security.
“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?” Moody asked. “The answer is simple: we can’t.”
She urged Congress to swiftly pass the Stop CCP VISAs Act, saying the report should “shock everyone.”
daily reminder that Rubio was unanimously confirmed
— Ernest Penfold (@penfoldsfiv.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 7:07 PM
But Rubio didn’t stop at the CCP. In a second major move, he announced visa restrictions on foreign individuals complicit in censoring Americans, particularly those who threaten or punish U.S. citizens for speech expressed within the United States.
“For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights,” Rubio wrote. “Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans.”
This policy is a sharp rebuke to foreign governments, including authoritarian regimes in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, who have targeted U.S. citizens with lawsuits, threats, or travel bans based on politically sensitive speech.
“Free speech is essential to the American way of life – a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority,” Rubio emphasized.
Rubio, Musk, and all of Musk’s little apprentice genocidaires need to go to prison.
— tekla 💜✨ (@tekla.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 11:50 PM
