California universities wary of threat to China student visas

Elena Zhukova/University of California

The Trump administration's announcement of plans to revoke Chinese student visas may have a significant impact on the University of California.

Roughly 43% of the 41,000 international students enrolled at UC's 10 campuses hail from China, according to UC data. International students comprised 13% of the university's 299,407 students enrolled in 2024, UC data showed.

International students make up 1 million students enrolled in U.S. colleges, according to a 2024 Department of Homeland Security report. India is the top country of origin, followed by China, according to the report.

"Chinese students, as well as all our international students, scholars, faculty and staff, are vital members of our university community and contribute greatly to our research, teaching, patient care and public service mission," Stett Holbrook, a UC spokesman, said in a statement.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday that the Trump administration would "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields."

Trump also suspended new student visa interviews. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent a letter to Harvard University Thursday revoking the university's student and exchange visitor program certification.

Investors have reacted to the Trump administration's actions against Harvard by demanding higher interest rates.

Leo Terrell, the Justice Department official who has lead the charge in lawsuits against Harvard University, also set his sights on the UC system when he announced during a Fox News interview an expansion of his lawsuits alleging antisemitism. In his remarks on Tuesday, Terrell, senior counsel for the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, said he would be filing lawsuits against the UC system, Midwestern universities and other universities on the east coast.

The expansion represents a shift away from solely targeting private ivy league colleges to public universities.

UC President Michael Drake said in March when he announced a hiring freeze that he had been working with state and federal officials to protect the university against what he described as the "onslaught" coming from the federal government.

Both the UC system and California State University had been struggling recently to close deficits, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom provided some reprieve when he reduced cuts by half to the state's two largest university systems in his May revision, compared to his initial January budget proposal. Cuts to UC fell to $130 million in May from $397 million, representing a 3% year-to-year budget cut. CSU's budget cut fell to $144 million from $375 million, also a 3% budget reduction.

CSU Chancellor Mildred García said she appreciated Newsom's thoughtful approach, but hoped the university's system would be spared cuts in the state's final budget.

"However, I must emphasize that the CSU's budget challenges remain – challenges exacerbated by real and potential federal disinvestment in higher education," Garcia said in a statement. "Painful cost reductions remain necessary, and they will be felt across each of the 23 CSU campuses and the Chancellor's Office."