Steve Cortes, founder of the League of American Workers, has called for barring foreign students from China from attending American universities. He also advocates for further restrictions on all international students following recent arrests. The statement was made on X.
“Go Wolverines,” said Cortes. “Chinese nationals arrested for potential bio-terror against America! Here “legally” as student at U of Michigan. Let’s end this madness. No Chinese at American schools — then, massive restrictions on ALL foreigners at US universities…”
Recent security concerns at U.S. universities have focused on biosecurity threats involving foreign nationals, particularly in sensitive scientific research fields. According to The Wall Street Journal, several high-profile incidents in 2024 led to increased federal scrutiny and prompted universities to review protocols after unauthorized lab access and protocol breaches by visiting researchers from abroad, especially in biotechnology departments.
The Institute of International Education reports that nearly 290,000 Chinese students and more than one million total international students were enrolled at U.S. universities during the 2022–2023 academic year. China represents the largest share of foreign students in the country, indicating a continued global demand for U.S. higher education despite security concerns.
Comparative data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies reveal that dozens of security incidents involving foreign nationals have been reported at U.S. universities over the past five years. Most cases involve intellectual property theft or unauthorized lab access, with Chinese nationals most frequently involved but incidents also linked to Russia and Iran, underscoring persistent biosecurity risks.
Cortes is also a senior political advisor to CatholicVote and a former senior advisor to President Trump and JD Vance. Additionally, he is known as a commentator for Fox News and CNN and regularly releases documentaries and columns at cortesinvestigates.com.
