Trump Is Coming for Chinese Students. Who Will Protect Them?

Six universities received letters from Congress in March asking them to turn over information on programs where Chinese students participate and work Now academic workers speaking through their unions are demanding that their schools reject calls to turn over information on the students and faculty The demand for information on Chinese students is part of a growing attack by the Trump administration and its Republican allies on Capitol Hill against universities in the U S The congressional focus on Chinese students in particular comes against the backdrop of rising of Sinophobia and racism against Chinese Americans under the guise of criticism of the Chinese leadership noted a scholar who focuses on science and mechanism in U S China relationships This issue has been weaponized by the national measure establishment in the U S an issue of civil liberties is being treated through the means and lens of a great power rivalry and the means and lens of national measure explained Yangyang Chen a fellow at the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School That is being further used to victimize the members of the same district in the name of protecting them The letters demanding information about the Chinese students came from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party chaired by Rep John Moolenaar R-Mich Describing the novice visa activity as a Trojan horse for Beijing the committee called on the universities to provide information on all the schools that Chinese students at their institution previously attended sources of tuition funding what kind of research Chinese students are conducting a list of programs that include Chinese participants and their sources of funding and a list of labs and research initiatives where Chinese students work The committee also requested a country-by-country breakdown of applicants admittances and enrollees at each university The letters were sent to Carnegie Mellon University Purdue University Stanford University University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign University of Maryland and the University of Southern California Universities have declared that the letters did not request information on individuals but rather on aggregate statistics Specific schools have issued statements that they would act in accordance with privacy protections for students The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party did not respond to a request for comment Chen the Yale scholar reported This is an infringement of the Chinese students and scholars civil liberties Read Our Complete Coverage The War on Immigrants A Dangerous Precedent While a great number of universities especially well-heeled elite institutions have faced criticisms for failing to aid their international students pushback against powerful forces in Washington continues to grow In the matter of the Chinese students academic workers are hoping universities will show fortitude in staving off congressional Republicans On Wednesday a coalition of academic worker unions signed an open letter to executives and trustees at their schools raising concerns about the risks facing Chinese students and demanding that schools refuse to provide any information on Chinese students faculty or post-doctoral scholars to the House committee Complying with these letters requests would not only contribute to demonizing Chinese nationals but also set a dangerous precedent for victimizing any group arbitrarily labeled as a threat they wrote At a time when the Trump administration is targeting international faculty students and academic workers standing fast to strong principles of fairness due process and academic freedom is more central than ever Blaming China has become a bipartisan strategy These letters are part of a broader escalation of anti-Chinese sentiment that has intensified with rising U S -China tensions noted Valentina Dallona political director for the nonprofit Justice Is Global which helped organize the letter As U S policymakers grapple with what may be the end of the neoliberal order and the shifting balance of global power blaming China has become a bipartisan strategy This scapegoating not only fuels discrimination but also jeopardizes international research partnerships that are crucial for addressing global challenges Related Ridiculous Scenario Juror Criticizes DOJ for Charging Scientist With Hiding Ties to China Schools have so far complied with the requests according to statements from universities in response to inquiries from The Intercept and accounts from graduate students The University of Southern California downplayed the implications of the request disclosed Daniel Delgado a historian at the school and member of a graduate pupil union organized under the auspices of the United Auto Workers The school implied that the information requested in the letter is typical or publicly available Delgado commented That doesn t address the core complication which is the targeting of Chinese students and use of this war-mongering to create fear and to target Chinese international workers he explained That s what I think they re trying to basically ignore by downplaying the significance of this information request The University of Maryland has not explained students if the school will voluntarily provide information to ruling body entities looking to target individuals noted Rose Ying a graduate trainee at Maryland and an organizer with the university s graduate aspirant union Maryland administrators have mentioned they won t work with U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement unless they have a judicial warrant which is signed by a judge based on probable cause indicating a crime whereas administrative warrants are issued by ICE itself without a judge s review But we are trying to get them to talk about information requests more broadly she disclosed If this committee comes back and says Hey we literally want a list of individuals would they give over that information A spokesperson for the University of Maryland stated they turned over information in accordance with federal and state law by the deadline of April In a declaration to The Intercept university spokesperson Katie Lawson revealed It is our understanding that the request did not seek personally identifiable information Related Universities Advised Students to Leave the Country ICE Just Noted They Didn t Certainly Have To A spokesperson for Carnegie Mellon explained the school had responded to the committee s inquiry but did not answer questions about what kind of input it turned over In a March report Stanford disclosed the committee had requested aggregate information not specific to individuals Stanford will continue working to help our students and also to fulfill our legal obligations in protecting individual scholar privacy the university declared noting that it would assure the defense and integrity of the research climate In response to questions Stanford University spokesperson Luisa Rapport pointed to the March message and reported the school had responded to the committee s letter and would continue to work cooperatively with them A spokesperson for USC announced the school was complying with the congressional request We are cooperating with the select committee s inquiries the spokesperson mentioned in a declaration to The Intercept and are following all applicable privacy laws and other legal protections as we do for all matters The post Trump Is Coming for Chinese Students Who Will Protect Them appeared first on The Intercept