Trump’s Crackdown on Foreign Student Visas Could Derail Critical AI Research
1 min read
Summary
The Trump administration in the US is planning to “aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese students, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party or who are working in critical fields.
The move is part of a wider crackdown on international students and is likely to cause a drain on American scientific labs of top STEM talent.
It could also impact areas such as AI, in which China is increasingly rivalling the US.
The US attracts about half of the world’s top students, despite having a population of only around a quarter of China’s.
Those in favour of limiting immigration argue that attracting the best engineers from around the world is vital for the US to maintain its technological dominance.
However, others argue that the US should screen students fairly or risk none coming, which will hit the US economy and technology base.
By Will Knight, Lauren Goode, Kate Knibbs, Louise Matsakis
