Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) has called on President Donald Trump to immediately suspend new student visas for Chinese nationals and begin a phased removal of current Chinese students, arguing that the move is a necessary countermeasure to Communist China’s escalating trade aggression and intellectual property theft.
In a letter sent to the President today, Senator Scott commended the administration’s recent imposition of a 100% tariff and export controls on sensitive technology against China.
However, he stressed that these economic actions must be paired with a crackdown on the approximately 300,000 Chinese national students currently enrolled in American universities, whom he characterized as a key vulnerability for national security.
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National Security Concerns at Universities
Scott’s primary concern revolves around Chinese national intelligence law, which he asserts compels every Chinese citizen, including students, to spy for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) when required.
“We cannot fight an economic war while hosting the enemy,” Scott wrote, highlighting that Chinese students often have access to critical research in fields like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, and aerospace—the very technologies subject to the new U.S. export controls. He warned that “What we deny China through trade policy, the CCP will attempt to acquire through their student population’s access to our sensitive technology.”
The letter specifically referenced the CCP’s “Thousand Talents Program” as an example of how Chinese nationals exploit relationships and recruit American academics to steal technology for China’s military and economic benefit.
Proposed Actions Against Chinese Students
To address this perceived threat, Senator Scott recommended three coordinated actions for the President to implement alongside the new trade measures:
- Suspend new student visas for Chinese nationals.
- Implement phased removal of current Chinese students, prioritizing those in:
- Programs related to technologies under export control.
- Federally funded research programs.
- STEM fields related to national security.
- Completely ban Chinese nationals in the U.S. from conducting any research involving dual-use technologies, defense applications, and critical infrastructure.
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Building on Previous Legislative Efforts
The senator’s request to the White House builds on his previous legislative efforts aimed at countering threats from the CCP. Scott has previously introduced bills intended to counter foreign espionage, including one that would prevent the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from awarding grants to American universities with ties to the CCP, specifically targeting entities like Confucius Institutes which he views as “CCP-linked spies” on U.S. campuses.
Scott concluded the letter by asserting that China’s aggressive trade actions prove they are “not operating in good faith,” and that decisive action is necessary to protect American innovation, technology, and national security.
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