Trump administration resumes foreign students’ visas - but there’s a catch

The US State Department on Wednesday (Jun 18) said that it was resuming the visa appointments for foreign students, but all applicants will be required to unlock their social media accounts for vetting by the government.

The department said that consular officers are required to conduct a “comprehensive and thorough vetting” of all student and exchange visitor applicants to identify those who “bear hostile attitudes toward our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles,” said the cable sent to US missions on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

Last month, US President Donald Trump’s administration ordered its missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants. It added that the department intended to expand its social media screening of foreign students.

According to a cable dated June 18, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered all US diplomatic missions to look for “applicants who demonstrate a history of political activism, especially when it is associated with violence or with the views and activities described above, you must consider the likelihood they would continue such activity in the United States.”

The cable, first reported by Free Press, also authorised the consular officers to ask applicants to make their social media accounts public.

“Remind the applicant that limited access to....online presence could be construed as an effort to evade or hide certain activity,” the cable said.

The directive added that officers should look for any potentially derogatory information about the applicant during the vetting process.

“For example, during an online presence search, you might discover on social media that an applicant endorsed Hamas or its activities,” the cable said. It added that this may be a reason for the ineligibility of an applicant.

Rubio has said that he has revoked hundreds, perhaps thousands, of visa applications of people, including students, saying they were involved in activities that went against US foreign policy priorities. The activities include a pro-Palestinian stance and criticism of Israel in the Gaza war.

Trump’s critics have said that the administration’s moves violate the free speech rights under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.