The White House on Thursday moved to clarify President Donald Trump’s recent remarks on Chinese student visas after conservatives accused him of planning to expand visa allocations for students from China.
The controversy stemmed from comments Trump made during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where he said, “I hear so many stories that we’re not going to allow their students. We’re going to allow their students to come in. It’s very important, 600,000 students. It’s very important. But we’re going to get along with China.”
The remarks were quickly seized upon by right-wing commentators as a signal that the administration was preparing to admit hundreds of thousands of additional Chinese nationals. Far-right political activist Laura Loomer blasted the statement in a series of social media posts, calling Chinese students “CCP spies” and accusing Trump of undermining his “America First” agenda.
“I didn’t vote for more Muslims and Chinese people to be imported to my country… Please don’t Make America China. MAGA doesn’t want more immigrants,” she wrote.
In another post tagging White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, she added: “Nobody, I repeat nobody, wants 600,000 more Chinese ‘students’ aka Communist spies in the United States. China murdered 1.2 million Americans. Now they get to replace us? This cannot happen.”
Amid the backlash, the White House insisted that Trump’s remarks had been misinterpreted. In a statement to Fox News, a senior official clarified: “President Trump isn’t proposing an increase in student visas for Chinese students. The 600,000 references two years’ worth of visas. It’s simply a continuation of existing policy.”
Currently, more than 270,000 Chinese students are enrolled across American universities under existing visa frameworks. Enrolment had peaked at over 372,000 in the 2019-2020 academic year but has since declined to around 277,000 in 2023, reflecting strained US-China relations and heightened scrutiny of educational partnerships.
Trump linked his comments on students to ongoing trade negotiations with Beijing, warning that China must grant the US access to rare earth magnets or face 200 percent tariffs. At the same time, he sought to reassure that Chinese students would continue to be permitted to study in the US.
While the White House stressed that no policy change was on the table, Trump’s remarks once again highlighted the political sensitivity of Chinese student visas an issue sitting at the intersection of education, trade, and national security.
