Warning shot over political activism by foreign students on US campuses after Chinese scholar’s visa is revoked

TOI Correspondent from Washington: Students from India usually embrace a way of life in US that is mentioned to revolve round “apartment and department.” Older graduate students could also be a bit extra adventurous, shuttling between “Advisor and Budweiser.” The uncommon ones who’re audacious sufficient to dabble in political activism acquired a salutary warning this week with the Trump administration revoking the coed visa of a Chinese scholar in California for collaborating in pro-Palestinian rallies on the campus.
The State Department didn’t identify the coed however social media posts recognized her as Liu Lijun, a grad pupil at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Liu got here to prominence after her arrest in May 2024 following campus unrest tied to the Israel-Hamas warfare after the Palestinian extremist group attacked Israel. While some reviews characterised her as an organizer main the protests in opposition to Israel’s retaliation, others mentioned she was solely a participant whose arrest pitched her into the limelight.
Speculation about foreign pupil visa revocations has been within the air for weeks after President Trump signed an government order on January 29 geared toward combating what the administration described as rising antisemitism and harassment of Jewish students on school campuses. The order particularly focused worldwide students concerned in pro-Palestinian activism, authorizing the Departments of Education, State, and Homeland Security to observe and report actions by foreign students and workers that might result in investigations and, if warranted, visa revocations or deportations.
Liu Lijun’s visa revocation is mentioned to be the primary of its sort in latest occasions and comes on the heels of the Trump administration canning $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University for failing to battle anti-semitism on campus. Nine different universities, together with George Washington University; Harvard University; Johns Hopkins University; New York University; Northwestern University; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Minnesota; and the University of Southern California, are underneath scrutiny, with Justice Department officers visiting them to look into political activism by foreign students, which extra excessive MAGA parts characterize as help for terrorists.
Thousands of students from India are finding out at these campuses, all situated in Democrat-run states and liberal enclaves within the US. India is now the main nation of origin for worldwide students within the U.S., with 331,602 Indian students enrolled in American greater training establishments, a 23% enhance from the prior 12 months when China was the highest nation.
Trump himself has railed in opposition to “woke” and ‘liberal” activism on campuses, which he says are dominated by the “radical left” or “Marxist” influences that prioritize gender identity discussions and critical race theory at the expense of traditional American principles. After he delivered a $ 400million blow to Columbia this week, the White House trolled the university, posting a photo of Trump with the message “Shalom Columbia!”
Most universities, including Columbia, are quickly falling in line even as civil liberties activists are raging about the war on free speech and peaceful protests which have long been the hallmark of American campuses. But MAGA hardliners argue that right cannot be exercised by foreign students, least of all those from China, whose government would not allow protests by its own citizens.
Not everyone is convinced about the Trump dispensation’s stance on anti-semitism though. “Revoking federal grants to Columbia University isn’t about combating anti-Semitism; it’s in regards to the Trump administration’s warfare on training and science. If the Trump administration had been as severe about anti-Semitism … they might not have crammed their ranks with unapologetic antisemites,” Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler said.
“Today’s announcement does nothing to maintain Jewish students secure and sends a chilling message that universities should align with the MAGA agenda or face monetary damage,” he added.