Latest news with #KnightFirstAmendmentInstitute
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
U.S. resumes visas for foreign students but demands access to social media accounts
The U.S. State Department said Wednesday (June 18, 2025) it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review. The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles. In a notice made public Wednesday, the department said it had rescinded its May suspension of student visa processing but said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to 'public' and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected. It said a refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity. The Trump administration last month temporarily halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the U.S. while preparing to expand the screening of their activity on social media, officials said. Students around the world have been waiting anxiously for U.S. consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, as the window left to book their travel and make housing arrangements narrows ahead of the start of the school year. On Wednesday afternoon, a 27-year-old Ph.D. student in Toronto was able to secure an appointment for a visa interview next week. The student, a Chinese national, hopes to travel to the U.S. for a research intern position that would start in late July. 'I'm really relieved,' said the student, who spoke on condition of being identified only by his surname, Chen, because he was concerned about being targeted. 'I've been refreshing the website couple of times every day.' Students from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines have posted on social media sites that they have been monitoring visa booking websites and closely watching press briefings of the State Department to get any indication of when appointment bookings might resume. 'Under new guidance, consular officers will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all student and exchange visitor applicants,' the department said in a statement. 'To facilitate this vetting' applicants 'will be asked to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to 'public,'' it said. 'The enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.' In internal guidance sent to consular officers, the department said they should be looking for 'any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.' Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the new policy evokes the ideological vetting of the Cold War when prominent artists and intellectuals were excluded from the U.S. 'This policy makes a censor of every consular officer, and it will inevitably chill legitimate political speech both inside and outside the United States," Mr. Jaffer said. International students in the U.S. have been facing increased scrutiny on several fronts. In the spring, the Trump administration revoked permission to study in the U.S. for thousands of students, including some involved only in traffic offenses, before abruptly reversing course. The government also expanded the grounds on which foreign students can have their legal status terminated. As part of a pressure campaign targeting Harvard University, the Trump administration has moved to block foreign students from attending the Ivy League school, which counts on international students for tuition dollars and a quarter of its enrollment. Mr. Trump has said Harvard should cap its foreign enrollment at 15%. The Trump administration also has called for 36 countries to commit to improving vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department says the countries have 60 days to address U.S. concerns or risk being added to a travel ban that now includes 12 nations.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
US reopens visas for foreign students, imposes mandatory social media screening
The US State Department on Wednesday announced that it is restarting student visa applications for foreigners. However, all applicants will now have to give access to their social media accounts for review. The department said consular officers will check for posts or messages that appear hostile toward the United States, its government, culture, institutions, or founding values. Student visa applicants who refuse to make their social media accounts public may now face rejection, the US State Department said in a notice released Wednesday. The department also announced it had lifted the suspension on student visa processing imposed in May. It added that refusing access to social media could be seen as an attempt to hide online behaviour or evade screening. The Trump administration temporarily paused new visa interview appointments for international students last month as it prepared to tighten social media screening, officials said. Students worldwide have been anxiously waiting for US consulates to resume scheduling, with limited time left to arrange travel and housing before the academic year begins. 'Under new guidance, consular officers will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all student and exchange visitor applicants,' the department said in a statement. 'To facilitate this vetting,' applicants 'will be asked to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to 'public,' the department said. It added, 'The enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.' The State Department has instructed consular officers to screen visa applicants' social media profiles for 'any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.' Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, criticised the move, saying it echoes Cold War-era ideological vetting that excluded artists and intellectuals. 'This policy makes a censor of every consular officer, and it will inevitably chill legitimate political speech both inside and outside the United States," Jaffer said.
CNN
28-05-2025
- General
- CNN
‘Incredibly damaging' for the United States: Columbia professor on US pausing foreign student visas
Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, talks to Bianna Golodryga about the U.S. State Department pausing visa applications for international students.
E&E News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
USDA, reversing course, will post climate information for farmers
The Trump administration has reversed course and will restore U.S. Department of Agriculture websites related to climate change in response to a lawsuit brought by environmental organizations and farmers. Groups represented by Earthjustice and the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University had sued in February, alleging that the removal of climate-related policies, datasets and other resources violated federal laws requiring advanced notice, reasoned decision-making and public access to certain information. In a letter late Monday, the administration told Judge Margaret Garnett of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that the USDA will restore the climate-related web content that was removed after President Donald Trump's inauguration, including all USDA webpages and interactive tools listed in the lawsuit. Advertisement It noted that the process of restoring the removed content was already underway and that the USDA expects to mostly complete the process in two weeks. The USDA also pledged that it 'commits to complying with' federal law governing future 'posting decisions.'
Al Jazeera
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Judge orders White House to restore media access to US news agency
A federal judge has ordered the White House to restore full access to The Associated Press (AP) to report on presidential events, almost two months after the news agency was banned by US President Donald Trump for refusing to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America in its reports. On Tuesday, United States District Judge Trevor N McFadden, who was appointed by President Trump, ruled that it would be a violation of the US Constitution's First Amendment free speech rights if the government discriminates against news organisations for the content of their reports. 'Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists – be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere – it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,' McFadden wrote in his ruling. 'The Constitution requires no less,' he said. 'It does not bestow special treatment upon the AP,' he wrote. 'But it cannot be treated worse than its peer wire service either.' McFadden also said this decision does not ban government officials from choosing which outlets to give interviews or answers to. It was not known when the White House would abide by the judge's ruling, which will not be implemented for a week to give the government time to respond or appeal. 'The decision, while a preliminary injunction, handed the AP a major victory at a time the White House has been challenging the press on several levels,' the news organisation said in a report on the judge's ruling. The AP's win comes after Trump called the news agency 'radical left lunatics' following the organisation's refusal to adjust its reporting in line with Trump's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico. 'We're going to keep them out until such time as they agree it's the Gulf of America,' Trump said at the time. AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said the news agency is 'gratified by the court's decision', and said the ruling 'affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation'. Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said, 'the First Amendment means the White House can't ban news outlets from covering the president simply because they don't parrot his preferred language'. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who was named in the lawsuit along with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich, did not immediately comment on the matter. Despite the win, the AP reported on Tuesday that one of its reporters and a photographer were turned away from joining a motorcade with the White House press pool shortly after the ruling.
