Chinese college students in Michigan among those nationwide facing direct threats of visa revocation

BY ERICK DÍAZ VELIZ, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—The immigration status of thousands of Chinese international students housed in Michigan, and hundreds of thousands across the country, is under intense threat from federal officials which could lead to future deportations if they decide to take action.

“The US will begin revoking visas of Chinese students,” read a post on the social media platform X by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday afternoon.

Along with the post on “X”, the US Department of State released a press statement in which Rubio specified that “under President Trump’s leadership,” Chinese students’ visas will be “aggressively” revoked, including those “with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.”

“We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong,” the statement concluded.

The revocation threats came shortly after the US government decided to halt new student visa interviews for foreign applicants to US colleges, where they plan to use the review of social media activity as a filter.

A week ago, during a US Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, Rubio stated that “visas are a privilege, not a right.” As of that moment, there was no exact count of how many visas had been revoked; it could be thousands, and, according to him, they “probably have more to do.”

These actions came as part of an escalation in the ongoing conflict between the Trump administration against both the international student community and the Chinese government.

Since early spring, several hundred visas and SEVIS records of foreign students have been revoked indiscriminately and without explanation at universities across the country. Chinese students were among those.

In Michigan, dozens of international students were affected by this policy, and although some of them had their visa records restored days later, the uncertainty about their future remained latent. The nationalities of the students whose visas and SEVIS records were revoked were never officially confirmed.

Around the country, several foreign students, Chinese citizens among them, started suing the current administration to have their visas and SEVIS records restored. A Chinese doctoral student from MSU sued the Trump administration to have his status reinstated.

On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning addressed the new actions taken by the Trump administration during a press conference. Regarding the tense situation surrounding student visas, Ning responded to a question from Bloomberg, stating that this unjustified decision uses national security as a pretext.

“It seriously hurts the lawful rights and interests of international students from China, and disrupts people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. China firmly opposes it and has protested to the US over the decision,” Ning said.

Even though tensions between Chinese university students in Michigan and the US government can be traced back to shortly before Trump began his second term, the latest statement from the federal government specifically targets them, exposing them all to uncertainty.

Five Chinese University of Michigan alumni were charged last October with misleading US authorities following an FBI investigation into their activities around the Camp Grayling National Guard base. Although it was unclear whether the students were arrested, the case sparked national security concerns.

Chinese students are among the largest groups within the international student community. Michigan colleges and universities house thousands of Chinese students per year under the F1, J1, or M1 visas, which include regular students, researchers, and vocational trainees.

At Michigan State University (MSU) alone, Chinese students make up the majority of the international student population, with a total of 1,016 students, according to the Geographical Sources of Students report from the Spring semester of this year. At the University of Michigan (U-M), according to the 2024 annual report from the International Center, Chinese students also represent the largest international group, totaling 4,046 individuals.

Prior to publication, the Michigan Advance reached out in person to MSU’s Office for International Students and Scholars seeking comment. However, the OISS responded that, due to the lack of clear information about the federal government’s decisions, they are not in a position to provide any comments.

MSU spokesperson, Amber McCann, in an emailed statement to the Advance, stated that MSU is “closely monitoring recent federal policy changes” and analyzing the consequences that could affect international students in order to “provide guidance and support”.

“International education and exchange are fundamental to Michigan State University’s identity as a leading public global research university.  We will continue to advocate for policies that enable us to welcome international students and scholars from around the world and promote global engagement,” McCann concluded.

In a statement, the International Center at the University of Michigan remarked that if a student is facing a visa revocation, they should contact the IC since their immigration status will be “potentially affected.”

“The IC is closely monitoring this development and will provide additional updates and guidance as more details become available. We remain committed to supporting U-M’s international students,” concluded the statement.

READ MORE: Trump revokes visas, legal residency of international students at Michigan universities

This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.