Lawmakers from both parties agree that the Chinese government has pressured some Chinese students in the United States to collect information, and that those engaged in sensitive research may pose serious security risks.
But Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement this week that the Trump administration will “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students” raised alarms among Democratic lawmakers and some China policy experts, who fear a brain drain out of the U.S. would only play into the Chinese government’s hands.
“This is a pattern with Trump: He identifies an issue, then responds with reckless overreach that ends up hurting America,” Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat who sits on the House select committee on competition with the Chinese government, said in a statement.