Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered the State Department to halt the scheduling of visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the United States, leading to confusion at universities nationwide.
U.S. officials say the suspension is temporary, and intended to expand on the screening of applicants’ activity on social media. Those efforts expand on a social media screening initiative put in during President Donald Trump’s first term.
University officials say that the vetting process for international students is already a thorough and expensive one. At Western Kentucky University, roughly 20 percent of students who are admitted to the university receive a visa to attend the institution.
“Ever since 9/11, the state department and Homeland Security have had a very rigorous vetting process for international students where they’re making sure they’re not criminals or terrorists, and to make sure that they have enough money, frankly, to live in the United States,” said John Sunnygard, associate provost for global learning and international affairs at WKU.
Sunnygard says all international students that attend WKU pay full tuition, receiving no financial aid from the U.S. government or from university funds. That boost to the university’s budget, he said, is a needed asset as colleges struggle to make up for cuts in federal research funding.
“And it’s not just the university, because they live in apartments, they eat, sometimes they buy cars, they do all the things that students do. Which means spending money in our community. So for Kentucky? $310 million that international students are bringing into the Kentucky economy. That’s very serious. They account for 1,800 jobs,” Sunnygard said.
Kentucky’s economy typically ranks between 27th and 30th in the nation. However, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Commonwealth’s export economy ranks much higher, usually between 13th and 15th.
“So, we punch way above our weight in terms of exporting. So, that diversity of understanding how different people function around the world better prepares Kentucky and Tennessee students to function more effectively as exporters, which brings money into the state and provides people with good jobs,” Sunnygard said.
Nationally, he says that economic impact grows exponentially.
“International students for the United States are a $44 billion export, meaning they spend money here. Just like if they bought a Ford 4-150 pickup truck, that’s an export because they’re spending money here,” Sunnygard said.
A state of limbo
A cable signed by Marco Rubio says the State Department will issue guidance on the expansion of social media vetting for international students, although there is no timeline for how long the pause will be in place.
The cable reads, “Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consulate sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity until the guidance is issued.”
International students make up around 3% of the student body at WKU. There are currently 200 such students enrolled at the school. Roughly 50 more international students are still awaiting a visa appointment to come to campus in the fall. They’re now in a state of limbo until more guidance is issued by the federal government.
Sunnygard said that delay, coupled with President Trump’s attempts to ban international students from entering Harvard University, could cause lasting damage to international relations.
“I’m very concerned about, overall, how this is going to impact our ability to attract some of the best minds, but more broadly, across the U.S., for us to be competitive in a highly competitive world to attract the best and most creative minds on the planet,” he said.
A threat to national security
In early April, international students across the nation began to receive word that their legal status had been terminated with little notice. Many of them were targeted for minor infractions, while others seemingly had their status revoked without explanation.
“I’ve been very concerned about this notion that somehow international students somehow represent a threat to national security. They don’t. I know most of the students who study here at Western Kentucky, some of them I know quite well. They love this country, they’re grateful to have the opportunity to receive an education here. They are not a threat to the United States,” Sunnygard said.
Many of the decisions made by the federal government regarding student visas and increased security screenings come under the guise of weeding out antisemitism. Sunnygard says that those claims, and investigations into student social media accounts, come with a dangerous level of ambiguity.
“For example, the former prime minister of Israel recently said that the Israeli government was effectively conducting genocide in Gaza. If an international student, someone outside the United States, likes that comment on social media, is that antisemitic? Quoting an Israeli prime minister against the current government of Israel? What then, is that antisemitism?” he asked.
Sunnygard said when students come to study in the United States, they do so after large sacrifices are made by their families. Students who choose to study overseas are typically the least likely to engage in any activity that would jeopardize their academic futures.
“They come here to get an education. They pay a lot of money, their families make huge sacrifices so that one or two of their children can have the opportunity to come to the United States and receive an education and potentially open up incredible career doors for that individual,” he said.
Sunnygard worries that with international attention on the United States government's attempts to deport student protestors and conduct security screening on social media, foreign students will begin to view an American education through a new lens.
“We have an incredible economy, we have the best universities, and we’re free. They can be a part of any religion that they want in this country, they can express themselves in this country. Well, when we start censoring and selecting people on the basis of arbitrary judgments about their social media, what does that say about our freedom? And what does that say to people outside the United States about what kind of country we are? That’s something that concerns me a lot,” Sunnygard said.
