Latitudes: For Chinese American Scientists, a Chill at the U.S. Border

Asian American researchers report being stopped and questioned by U.S. authorities. Plus, could new federal guidance affect the use of recruitment agents? ADVERTISEMENT [Latitudes Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. You can now read The Chronicle on [Apple News]( [Flipboard]( and [Google News](. Chinese American researchers say they were questioned at the border Advocates for Asian American academics are raising alarms about Chinese American researchers, and their families, being stopped and questioned when re-entering the United States. The Asian American Scholar Forum said there have been “multiple incidents” in which scientists and professors have been “harassed or interrogated” at airports or other border crossings. The incidents, which have occurred over the last few months, have sparked fears that federal government scrutiny of researchers with ties to China is continuing, despite the end of the controversial [China Initiative]( the U.S. Department of Justice investigation of academic and economic espionage by China. “Although the China Initiative has ended — and that was a very important and critical step — for many Chinese Americans, it is clear that they still live in a climate that’s less welcoming,” said Gisela Perez Kusakawa, the forum’s executive director. The stops led to concerns about possible racial bias, Kusakawa said. The incidents, in which travelers were subjected to additional questioning, a process known as secondary screening, have occurred when scholars were returning to the United States after going abroad for professional reasons, such as for conferences or to work with colleagues on joint research projects. The screenings have also happened following personal travel, and in some cases, academics’ family members have been pulled aside. Kusakawa said many of those who contacted her have been scared to speak out publicly. But Zhigang Suo, a professor of mechanics and materials at Harvard University who [helped start]( the Asian American Scholar Forum, posted a [Twitter thread]( detailing several incidents. In one case, Suo, a Chinese-born American citizen, said one of his graduate students was questioned by border officials about his lab’s research — which, Suo notes, is unrelated to national security. In another case, the young daughter of a Chinese American scholar traveling by herself was stopped for several hours and asked about her father’s work. Not all those who have been subject to extra screening are of Chinese descent. Suo said a Harvard colleague with many research ties abroad and to China was also stopped. And one friend, whom Suo describes as an “extremely accomplished professor at a U.S. university,” has been questioned twice, he said. “He was so traumatized and considered not returning to the job he loved,” Suo wrote. “I and others talked him out of it. But I’m no longer sure that I did him any favor.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the reported incidents. Kusakawa said the Asian American Scholar Forum hopes to gather more data about the border stops. But the reports underscore concerns among researchers of Chinese and Asian descent that they continue to be under the microscope even though the [Trump-era inquiry]( was ended a year ago. Those fears could have a chilling effect on international scientific collaboration. A [survey]( conducted last year of Chinese and Chinese American scientists at American colleges by the forum found that 72 percent do not feel safe as academic researchers. Two-thirds of respondents worried about continuing collaborative work with China. Border officers should receive anti-bias training, Kusakawa said. In the meantime, the group has organized a virtual session with immigration, national-security, and criminal-law experts to give Chinese American researchers information about what to do if they are stopped for secondary screening. Among the advice offered: Carry the name and contact information of a lawyer, travel with a laptop and phone that contain only necessary work materials, and log out of all social-media and email accounts when crossing the border. Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up]( to receive Latitudes in your inbox every Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. International students can get U.S. visas earlier International students will now be able to get their U.S. student visas as much as a full year before beginning their studies, the U.S. Department of State announced, one of two significant changes affecting foreign students. In a [Twitter post]( the department said that students would be permitted to get visa documents and be issued F or M student visas for academic or vocational study up to 365 days in advance of the start of their programs. Previously, student visas could be issued 120 days ahead. However, students still will not be allowed to enter the United States until 30 days before their program start date. The shift could help ease lengthy wait times for appointments for student-visa interviews, particularly at consulates with high demand during busy summer months ahead of the start of the academic year. Even now, at a relatively slow time for students seeking to come to America, [wait times posted by the State Department]( for student-visa applicants are at least 49 days at U.S. consulates across India, the No. 2 sender of students to the United States. In Nepal, they are more than a year. In other news, international students from countries dealing with crisis or strife will be able to qualify for longer periods of emergency employment authorization, under changes [announced]( by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Students suffering economic hardship because of conditions in their home countries will be able to qualify for special student relief for the entire period during which the relief is authorized by the federal government — typically 18 months. Previously, students were approved for up to one year. The program permits foreign students to work off campus and to carry less-than-full courseloads without jeopardizing their visa status. Students can qualify for the expanded relief as long as the employment authorization does not extend past the end date of their academic studies. In recent months, the Department of Homeland Security has approved special student relief for visa holders from a number of countries including Haiti, Ukraine, and Yemen. FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Solving Higher Ed's Staffing Crisis - The Chronicle Store]( [Solving Higher Ed's Staffing Crisis]( The Covid-19 pandemic upended norms surrounding how academic institutions work, putting the relationship between colleges and their staff members under greater stress. [Order your copy]( to explore how higher education can better manage a crucial part of its work force. New guidance raises concerns about use of recruitment agents The U.S. Department of Education’s [surprise move]( to expand regulatory oversight of online-program managers and other third-party ed-tech vendors has led to concerns that the new guidance could prohibit colleges from paying incentives to international-student recruitment agencies. The American International Recruitment Council, a membership and standards-setting organization for international-recruitment agencies and the American colleges that use them, has asked the Education Department to clarify the guidance and whether it pertains to foreign-student recruitment. The department’s announcement makes no mention of overseas agents and instead focuses on the recent growth domestically of outside companies that help colleges run online programs and recruit students to them. The department plans to review revenue-share agreements colleges have with such programs and step up reporting requirements. Nonetheless, the February 15 notice alarmed some college leaders who worry that compensation-based recruitment abroad could also come under more scrutiny, said Brian Whalen, the council’s executive director. In an email, Whalen said he did not think the Education Department intended to change the rules for overseas-recruitment agents, who have long been exempt from a prohibition on paying per-student commissions that exists within the United States. “My view is that this is likely a case of updated guidance that is poorly worded and has needlessly worried some institutions and professionals working in the international-enrollment management field,” he wrote. The council has not heard back on its request for clarification. In a [letter]( to members, Whalen said the group planned to take part in virtual listening sessions organized by the department this month and to advocate for the use of agents. (The department on Tuesday [extended]( the public-comment period and delayed the start of required reporting to September 1.) Although the use of international-recruitment agents has historically been [divisive]( more colleges have adopted the practice as the competition to attract top students globally has become more heated. A [snapshot survey]( last spring by the Institute of International Education found that two-thirds of responding colleges report using agents. The share could be even greater, speakers at a [recent Chronicle forum]( said, because some colleges use agents to attract foreign students to specialized programs, such as English-language centers and certain graduate degrees, even if they don’t do so in undergraduate admissions. Around the globe A special National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine committee is seeking public input on foreign-funded programs and partnerships that support international collaboration while enabling and maintaining openness, transparency, and the flow of talent and ideas. [Comments can be submitted]( through March 20. The panel’s [first report]( made recommendations about Confucius Institutes, Chinese-funded language and cultural centers on college campuses. House Republicans are criticizing a decision by the Department of Education to shift oversight for reporting on foreign gifts and contracts to colleges from the department’s general counsel to the federal student-aid office, saying it lacks “[capability or expertise]( The Education Department underestimates the administrative burden on colleges of foreign-funds reporting and overstepped its authority by [threatening to withhold federal student aid]( from institutions that do not meet disclosure requirements, the American Council on Education said in a [comment letter](. Proposed visa-fee increases could serve as a disincentive for international students and scholars to come to the United States, NAFSA: Association of International Educators wrote in a [letter]( to the Department of Homeland Security. A pair of bills, [one in the House]( and [another in the Senate]( seek to stop foreign “espionage” on U.S. campuses. The chairman of a special House committee on China met with Chinese students on American campuses who said they have been subject to harassment for [speaking out]( against the Chinese government. Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed repealing a 2014 law that allows undocumented immigrant students who graduate from Florida’s high schools to qualify for lower, [in-state tuition]( at public colleges. A [commentary]( published by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, urged a group of technology workers who challenged the legality of a work program for recent international graduates to [appeal their case]( to the U.S. Supreme Court. Students from Turkey and Syria whose studies have been disrupted by the recent earthquakes there will still be eligible for [exchange-visitor visas]( to come to the United States, provided they meet all other criteria, the State Department said. International students told a British panel drafting a national strategy for international education that they sometimes felt like “[just numbers]( at their universities. The Russian government is preparing to [draft college students]( to fight in its war against Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence agencies. International students in Australia will be eligible to [work more hours]( and graduates in select, high-demand fields, like engineering and nursing, will be able to stay in the country for longer periods after earning their degree. Students and faculty at New York University’s recently opened permanent campus in Shanghai [have complained]( about unsafe working and learning conditions there, including dust, exposed wires, and lack of heat. Two students at China’s Tsinghua University who were punished for distributing [gay-pride flags]( on campus have sued to try to get the country’s Ministry of Education to dismiss formal disciplinary warnings against them. Researchers in Japan are pushing back against a plan that would give the government greater control over the country’s [national scientific academy](. ADVERTISEMENT And finally … American collegiate teams have become incubators for many of the world’s female Olympians, The New York Times [reports](. Top female athletes have been drawn to the United States because Title IX, which bans discrimination based on sex in educational settings, gives them access to training and facilities they often can’t get at home. American colleges then become feeders to national teams — every women’s hockey team competing in last year’s winter Olympics, for example, had at least one player with American college experience. But international students who are athletes can also face a distinct set of challenges from their teammates and classmates, including lack of ties to American culture outside of their team and additional restrictions on study and work, such as uncertainty about their ability to make money from endorsement deals, because of their visa status. Colleges could do more to support international athletes, one expert told me when I [wrote about the issue]( last year. “They can be great ambassadors, or they can fall through the cracks.” Thanks for reading. I always welcome your feedback and ideas for future reporting, so drop me a line at karin.fischer@chronicle.com. You can also connect with me on [Twitter]( or [LinkedIn](. If you like this newsletter, please share it with colleagues and friends. 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