Rubio says U.S. will 'aggressively' revoke visas for many Chinese students

In the latest and most drastic move yet to curtail the numbers of international students studying in the U.S. the federal government will "aggressively" revoke visas from Chinese students and enhance scrutiny for future applicants, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"Under President Trump's leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields," Rubio said in a statement. "We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong."

Depending on how broadly the State Department and Department of Homeland Security define these criteria, the edict could affect many of the 280,000 or so Chinese high school, university, and graduate level students currently in the U.S.