In recent years, students from communist countries have strengthened their learning in the United States and students engaged in suspected secret activities in the United States.
The incidents involved allegations of espionage, conspiracy and allegations of misleading federal officials were the result of participation by Chinese nationals or other Chinese ties in a joint education program between the United States and China.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the State Department and the Ministry of Homeland Security plan to "actively revoke student visas for Chinese nationals, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party."
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman blasted the new policy in a statement on X on Thursday, saying the move was "completely unreasonable" and hurt the reputation of the United States.
The State Council said it will "actively revoke" visas for Chinese students
Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified at a Senate diplomatic relations hearing to review the president's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget requirement, which was proposed by the State Department on Capitol Hill, Washington on May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
"This move, under the pretext of ideology and national security, seriously undermines the legitimate rights and interests of international students from China and undermines communication between the two countries," said spokesman Lin Ji'an.
In the United States, nearly 300,000 Chinese nationals have student visas. It is not clear whether the State Council plans to target all targets. Fox News Digital extends a helping hand to the department.
The following are some recent incidents involving Chinese nationals in universities.
Last year, the Justice Department filed charges against five students at the University of Michigan after meeting a sergeant major at Camp Greyling in 2023.
The complaint said the students carried cameras with them and were found because the U.S. National Guard was conducting a large-scale training operation with Taiwanese military members.
FBI officials wrote in the complaint that they were both part of a joint program with Shanghai University and were all Chinese nationals as part of the joint program of the school, he wrote in the complaint.
Marco Rubio and XI Jinping (Getty Image)
The FBI requires the court to issue a warrant for false statements and records to students.
Two Chinese nationals at the University of Michigan were arrested in 2020 and pleaded guilty in 2020 after illegally entering and shooting defense infrastructure at a Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida.
The University of Minnesota's China National Learning Eighth Tree, convicted last year in U.S. District Court in Eastern Virginia, where he used a drone to take photos of a naval base in Norfolk, Virginia.
Shi was sentenced to six months in prison and one year of supervised release, while the Biden administration revoked his visa in response to the charges. ICE announced in May that he would be deported to China.
Trump administration starts a new wave of international student visa revocation: "No one is entitled to a visa"
Charles Lieber, former chairman of Harvard's Department of Chemistry, was convicted in 2021 for making false statements to authorities and failed to report income from his work with Wuhan University of Technology in China and his contract with China Thousand Talents Program.
Ji Chaoqun, a Chinese state and once student at Illinois Institute of Technology, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted by a jury in 2022 for attempting espionage and theft of trade secrets.
The discovery JI has collected information about defense contractors, engineers and others, as part of a broader effort by Chinese intelligence officials to gain internal access to U.S. technological advances.
Rubio's announcement was also published after Harvard filed a lawsuit alleging that the Trump administration improperly banned all foreign nationals from entering Ivy League schools by revoking its student visa certification. The judge temporarily blocked the government from banning the case when it was paid in the court.
Now, the State Council reviews all visa holders related to Harvard
A banner from the Harry Elkins Widner Memorial Library on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Sophie Park/Bloomberg)
ICE acting director Todd Lyons told Harvard in a letter released through court documents that the revocation was a result of alleged prevalence of anti-Semitism on campus, and the result of the government's "serious concerns" about the university's "coordination with the Chinese Communist Party."
Lyons cited several examples, including Harvard’s $151 million received from foreign donors since 2020, working with “China-based academic community,” working with “Iranian government agents” funded projects, “working with Chinese universities, using public funds to work with people related to China’s defense industrial bases and working with people.”
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"This coordination is an effective and substantial reason for withdrawing Harvard (Student Exchange Visitor Program) certification to recruit foreign students," Lyons wrote.
Harvard attorneys argued at a court hearing Thursday that the Trump administration did not provide colleges with claims for anti-Semitism and CCP ties before issuing a foreign student ban. The government agreed to give Harvard a month to respond to those claims when the ban was put on hold.