(NewsNation) — After ordering U.S. embassies and consulates to stop scheduling student visa interviews for international students, the Trump administration is also weighing putting a 15% cap on the enrollment of international students.
A U.S. official said the halt is temporary. The State Department was also weighing the expansion of “social media screening and vetting” for applicants.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, President Donald Trump said the expansive screening would determine if foreign students were “troublemakers” and wants to ensure that any admitted students are those who “love our country.”
In an exclusive interview with NewsNation, Arne Duncan, Education secretary under former President Barack Obama, said the administration’s move was the opposite of its “Make America Great Again” slogan.
“We attract the best and brightest students from around the world, and we only help ourselves,” Duncan said. “These are future innovators, job creators, entrepreneurs, these are researchers who can help us find the next cure for cancer, and to lose their talent and expertise is extraordinarily disturbing.”
Duncan added it puts the country in a “very bad position,” and even though it is a temporary decision, it could leave a “chilling effect” on the U.S. that could last for a long time. He said it could deter international students and even U.S.-born students from applying to certain colleges.