CAPAC Members Demand Answers from Secretary Rubio on Revocation of Visas for Chinese Students
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), led 31 CAPAC members in demanding answers from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his agency’s plan to “aggressively revoke visas” for Chinese students. In the letter, the lawmakers raised concerns regarding the impacts of this policy on individuals of Chinese descent and how the Trump administration will determine which students have ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
“We agree that anyone who comes to the United States under false pretenses to gather intelligence to benefit a foreign adversary like the Chinese Communist Party has no place here, and should be addressed,” wrote the lawmakers. “However, the lack of any details about the process or standards by which you intend to conduct this review raises serious concerns that innocent students will be caught up in this ordeal, simply because they are of Chinese descent. That’s not smart national security policy—it’s just un-American.”
For decades, the U.S. has attracted some of the world’s brightest minds, particularly from China, to address talent shortages and maintain its competitive advantage. International students studying at U.S. colleges and universities also contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy and supported over 375,000 jobs during the 2023-2024 academic year.
“Wholesale bans or revocations of visas severely diminish U.S. competitiveness and heighten suspicions of dual loyalty against Chinese Americans, or those perceived to be of Chinese descent. Past discriminatory policies that target people based on national origin have ruined innocent lives and cost us the talent we need to maintain our competitive edge,” the lawmakers continued. “We are concerned that the mass revocation of student visas may result in the indiscriminate loss of experienced scholars, researchers, and scientists who have generated top results at our nation’s leading institutions.
More than 277,000 Chinese students studied at an American higher education institution during the 2023-2024 academic term, making up the second-largest group of students from a foreign country, according to a report published by the State Department and the Institute of International Education.
32 Members of Congress signed the letter: CAPAC Chair Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán, Rep. Ami Bera (CA-06), Rep. Ed Case (HI-01), Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), Rep. Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Rep. Dan Goldman (NY-10), Rep. Al Green (TX-09), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36), Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-07), Rep. Dave Min (CA-47), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Rep. Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03), Rep. Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Rep. Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39), Rep. Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rep. Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Rep. Derek Tran (CA-45), Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-51), and Rep. Nydia Velázquez (NY-07).
Read the full text of the letter below.