Trump administration to crack down on Chinese student visas: report
Reported crackdown would apply to 3,000 out of the 360,000 Chinese students in the US
State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus discusses rising tensions between the U.S. and China amid Hong Kong protests.
Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
The Trump administration is expected to cite national security concerns and cancel visas for Chinese graduate students connected to universities tied to the People's Liberation Army, according to a Thursday report from The New York Times.
Such a move would come amid rising U.S.-China tensions over China's alleged lack of transparency about coronavirus and controversial attempts to override Hong Kong's independence.
CHINA VOTES TO OVERRIDE HONG KONG'S AUTONOMY ON NATIONAL SECURITY
The reported crackdown would apply to 3,000 out of the 360,000 Chinese students in the U.S., according to The Times. The FBI has warned American universities about espionage by students, especially in the sciences, for years.
(iStock)
Those universities may disapprove of canceling visas for Chinese students and researchers tied to both military schools and traditional Chinese universities, which would dry up one of their sources of tuition money. Such a move could also cause retaliation by China against American students and researchers.
FOX Business' inquiry to the White House was not returned at the time of publication.