It’s almost as if the Donald Trump administration hates America. After Trump’s disgraceful and deranged Memorial Day rant on Monday, MAGA lackey and Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an order on Tuesday designed to further harm American colleges and universities that don’t bend to MAGA ideology.
Via The Guardian:
The directive, first reported by Politico and now confirmed by the Guardian, could severely delay visa processing and hurt universities – many of which Donald Trump accuses of having far-left ideologies – that rely heavily on foreign students for revenue
“The department is conducting a review of existing operations and processes for screening and vetting of student and exchange visitor visa applicants,” the [State Dept.] cable reads. Officials plan to issue guidance on “expanded social media vetting for all such applicants”.
The freeze is further escalation from current screening measures, which have primarily targeted students who participated in pro-Palestinian campus protests.
The Guardian notes that Rubio says he has “probably” already revoked thousands of visas in his few months in office and “probably” plans more.
But the American economy is sure to be collateral damage in this scheme.More via The Guardian:
There are more than one million foreign students in the United States, contributing nearly $43.8bn to the US economy and supporting more than 378,000 jobs in 2023 to 2024, according to NAFSA. The visa freeze threatens to compound existing challenges facing higher education institutions already experiencing declining international enrollment.
This administration has already demonstrated it’s happy to tank the economy for the sake of its extremism.
