US temporarily stop visa conversations for international students

The United States temporarily stopping visa conversations for international students, so that at that time the US government can expand the possibilities to control social media reports of visa applicants. International press agencies and American media, including The New York TimesWednesday based on a message that Minister of the Interior Marco Rubio sent around the day before to embassies and consulates in the US.

« We use all available information for our visa screening and controls, » the Ministry of the Interior explained, the newspaper writes. What kind of social media reports lead to the rejection of a visa application, the ministry left unanswered. Visa agreements that have already been planned will most likely continue, writes The New York Times.

Since his appointment in January, President Donald Trump tries to force American universities, including Harvard and Columbia, to limit the right to freedom of expression and demonstration. Those attempts are primarily a reaction to pro-Palestinian protests that took place last year on the campuses of those universities.

Government contracts

In recent weeks, the pressure on Harvard was mainly increased. Last week, Minister Kristi mentioned domestic security that the university is no longer allowed to register foreign students, a quarter of the total number of people studying at Harvard. President Trump has also suspended $ 2.6 billion (around 2.3 billion euros) in subsidies for the university.

Tuesday written The New York Times That Trump has sent a letter to government departments, in which he asks to cancel all government contracts with Harvard. They would be around 100 million dollars (around 88 million euros).