Rubio cable alludes to executive orders that are aimed at keeping out terrorists and battling antisemitism
By Arun Kumar and Vishnu Kaimal
The Trump administration is weighing requiring all foreign students applying to study in the United States to undergo social media vetting — a significant expansion of previous such efforts, according to a media report.
In preparation for such required vetting, the administration is ordering U.S. embassies and consular sections to pause scheduling new interviews for such student visa applicants, Politico reported citing a cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
If the administration carries out the plan, it could severely slow down student visa processing. It also could hurt many universities who rely heavily on foreign students to boost their financial coffers, the political news outlet reported.
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“Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued,” the cable read as cited by Politico.
The cable doesn’t directly spell out what the future social media vetting would screen for, but it alludes to executive orders that are aimed at keeping out terrorists and battling antisemitism.
The expanded social media vetting will require consular sections to modify their operations, processes and allocation of resources, according to the cable, which advises the sections going forward to take into consideration the workload and resource requirements of each case before scheduling them.
The cable also advises consular sections to remain focused on services for U.S. citizens, immigrant visas and fraud prevention.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to comment on reports of the cable, but said the U.S. will use “every tool” to vet anyone who wants to enter the United States.
“We will continue to use every tool we can to assess who it is that’s coming here, whether they are students or otherwise,” Bruce told reporters at a regular news briefing.
This is the latest in Trump’s play to monitor immigrants and exert his control over private institutions of learning. It started as a means to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses in light of the war in Gaza, however, Trump has been overreaching with every executive action in his arsenal. He has cut funding to Ivy League universities in an attempt to make them comply which has resulted in a lawsuit by Harvard University against the administration. Harvard President Alan Garber told Morning Edition, “Why cut off research funding? Sure, it hurts Harvard, but it hurts the country because after all, the research funding is not a gift.”
Last week, the Trump administration moved to revoke Harvard’s ability to enroll international students. Those roughly 6,800 students make up about 27% of Harvard’s total enrollment.
The new vetting process means international students from India applying for U.S. student visas may face closer scrutiny of their social media activity, including posts, shares, and comments on platforms like Instagram, X, and TikTok. This could lead to longer visa processing times and potential denials if any content is deemed problematic by consular officers.