Trump pauses student visas as administration drills down on applicants’ social media

The Trump administration has ordered a pause on all new interviews for student visa applicants as the White House threatens to strip federal funding from Harvard University and prevent the college from enrolling international students.

The White House froze new student visa interviews on Tuesday as the government prepares to expand how it reviews applicants’ social media profiles after President Donald Trump took aim at college campuses over pro-Palestine demonstrations.

A cable from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that was seen by Politico orders all U.S. embassies and consulates to immediately suspend visa appointments “until further guidance is issued” to implement new social media vetting.

The freeze targets all visa applicants in both academic and vocational studies (F and M visas) as well all applicants in educational and cultural exchange programs (J visas).

The administration “is focused on protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process,” a State Department spokesperson told The Independent.

“Every visa adjudication is a national security decision. Every prospective traveler to the United States undergoes interagency security vetting. Prohibiting entry to the United States by those who might pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety is key to protecting U.S. citizens at home,” the spokesperson added.

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“We take very seriously the process of vetting who it is who comes into the country,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday. “Whether you're a student or a tourist who needs a visa, or whoever you are, we're going to be looking at you. Why would it seem to be such a controversial thing that's going on?”

Last month, USCIS announced the agency was “immediately” reviewing immigrants’ social media accounts for what it considers “antisemitic activity” that could be used as evidence to deny them legal status in the United States.

“This will immediately affect aliens applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and aliens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity,” according to the agency.

Immigration officials are reviewing “social media content that indicates an alien endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor,” according to last month’s memo.

A separate cable from State Department officials last month called for a review of social media accounts belonging to foreign students and student exchange visitors. The cable also suggested visas could be denied for perceived “hostile attitudes” towards the United States.

The latest action is “another misguided and deeply troubling attack against international students” from the administration, according to Fanta Aw, executive director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

“International students already represent the most tracked and vetted category of nonimmigrants in the United States. It is a poor use of taxpayer dollars to devote resources into screening students who are already subject to extensive background checks, while business visitors and tourists are not tracked at all,” she said in a statement shared with The Independent.

“With these actions, the United States will alienate the very minds that fuel its success,” she said.

Tuesday’s directive follows a series of high-profile arrests and deportation threats after the administration revoked international student visas in response to campus demonstrations against Israel’s war in Gaza.

Trump has zeroed in on campus activism at prestigious universities, including Harvard, one of a handful of institutions that has pushed back against the administration’s threats. Homeland Security accused the university of fostering “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators.”

On Tuesday, the General Services Administration ordered all federal agencies to consider canceling government contracts with Harvard, which is accused of continuing to “engage in race discrimination, including in its admissions process and in other areas of student life” and failing to protect students from antisemitism.

“In light of this deeply troubling pattern, each agency should consider its contracts with Harvard University and determine whether Harvard and its services efficiently promote the priorities of the agency,” the letter says.

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The Department of Homeland Security has also ordered the administration to “terminate” the university’s certification for enrolling international students, and commanded all currently enrolled foreign students to leave the university or risk losing their legal status in the country.

Last week, a federal judge temporarily blocked the order.

The Ivy League university’s lawsuit warned that the order would trigger an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders” attending the school.

More than 1.1 million international students were enrolled in American universities within the last school year.

Those students contributed roughly $43.8 billion a year to the U.S. economy and supported more than 378,000 jobs, according to the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers.

Trump signed two executive orders that critics fear are being used to chill speech in support of Gaza and Palestine by conflating demonstrations with antisemitism and support for Hamas.

One declares U.S. policy to “ensure” noncitizens “do not … advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security.” A fact sheet for another executive order pledges “immediate action” to “investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities” with a promise to “deport Hamas sympathizers and revoke student visas.”