Colleges and universities are responding to reports that the Trump administration beginning in June plans to limit Chinese student visas as President Trump is criticizing China for its trade practices.
In 2014, the Obama administration increased the cap on Chinese graduate student visas from one to five years.
Reports say the State Department now plans to reverse that decision for Chinese students studying science, technology and engineering, hoping to prevent intellectual property theft by Beijing.
WGBH News hasn’t been able to independently verify the reports, but higher education leaders are reacting, and they’re not pleased.
In a statement, Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, said the change would be bad for institutions and bad for the nation, citing a chilling effect on colleges’ ability to attract international talent.
“We stand ready to work with federal officials to address security concerns regarding Chinese or any international students,” Mitchell said. “However, we fear that applying a broad brush of suspicion to such a large group sends a message that our nation no longer welcomes talented students and scholars from across the globe.”
Administrators at Northeastern University in Boston, where Chinese students make up more than 40 percent of foreign students, worry the change would make it harder to attract international talent.
“While we do not anticipate the proposed policy having an effect on current students and researchers, we are concerned that it will deter prospective students from applying to American institutions,” said Renata Nyul, Northeastern’s vice president for communications. “As a global institution, Northeastern is committed to supporting the ability of international students to come to the US to pursue research and education opportunities.”
On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the Trump administration’s reported plan to restrict visas for Chinese studying technology in the US.
