Washington, DC [US]: May 28, 2025 Tuesday (local time) the US State Department underlined the gravity of the vetting process for visa allocation in light of rumors that the Donald Trump government is considering rigorous social media monitoring for student visas.
US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce addressed a news briefing stating that the nation will keep screening whether a visitor or student need a visa.
“We are going to keep doing that; we do know, though, that we take extremely seriously the process of screening who it is that comes into the nation. We are going to keep vetting. We are going to be looking at you regardless of your situation—that of a tourist with a visa or a student or whatever. Why would it seem that this is such a divisive issue occurring? Nevertheless, it shouldn’t be,” Tammy Bruce remarked.
According to a diplomatic cable obtained by Politico, this development follows US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s directive to US embassies and consular offices to stop arranging fresh visa interviews for student applicants as the Donald Trump administration is contemplating thorough screening of applicants’ social media profiles.
Although Tammy Bruce noted that the actions done by the Trump government could seem “counterproductive,” she underlined that it is crucial to ensure those arriving to the US grasp US laws.
“We’re not going to lay out here with the media, the type of steps that are taken, the methods that we use that would seem to be a little bit counterproductive, perhaps, but it is a goal, as stated by President Trump and Secretary Rubio to make sure that people who are here and understand what the law is, that they are going to be contributors to the experience here, whether whether their stay is short or long, and so the details of which I will not reveal.” However, it’s one that will ideally reflect our knowledge of who deserves to visit our nation and who does not,” she said.
Earlier in the day, Politico revealed that the directive to stop the new visa interviews for student applicants was granted to indicate a larger application of current vetting procedures to restrict foreign students’s access to American universities and institutions.
But the cable only mentions executive orders targeted on counterterrorism and antisemitism; it does not specify what social media activity will be examined, Politico noted.
Previous administrative direction included social media searches for returning students who had taken part in Gaza-related demonstrations. For months, many State Department officials have discreetly complained about past policies that, say, for screening students who might have taken part in campus demonstrations, have been unclear.
The government has past attacked some colleges, particularly Harvard, on problems with antisemitism and student demonstrations. It has also strengthened measures at immigration control including those involving holders of student visas.
