This House Republican is moving to revoke visas of all Chinese students in the US
Issue #239 highlights a call to revoke the visas of all Chinese students, a move to strip recognition from the Asian American caucus and a Justice Department finding against a California med school.
Today’s stories open with a Florida Republican calling for the cancellation of student visas of every Chinese national at a U.S. college, going further than the administration’s own approach. Enforcement is also reaching families who came forward voluntarily, with undocumented relatives arrested after offering to sponsor children held in federal shelters.
On Capitol Hill, a departing lawmaker has moved to strip official recognition from more than 20 caucuses and staff groups organized by race or ethnicity, with the Asian American caucus first on the list. Race is at issue in admissions too, where the Justice Department says a California medical school weighed it against Asian and white applicants.
We then move to New York, where Manhattan prosecutors added hate crime charges after two men were stabbed four blocks apart within minutes. Finally, a mathematician at New York University has won a prize almost no woman has held.
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House Republican calls for revoking visas of Chinese students already in the US
U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to cancel the F-1 and J-1 visas of Chinese nationals at U.S. colleges and to suspend new ones pending a review. More than 265,000 students would be affected.
The lawmaker pointed to declassified intelligence on Chinese election interference, though her letter cited no evidence connecting students to it. The Asian American Foundation compared a similar bill last year to the Chinese Exclusion Act.
What else we’re tracking
Sponsor a migrant child, and ICE may be waiting
Immigration agents have arrested undocumented relatives who came forward to take custody of children in federal shelters. Meanwhile, attorneys say their clients broke no laws and met every federal requirement. All this, after a rule that once kept sponsors’ information from ICE has been rescinded.
Months from leaving office, GOP congresswoman moves to dissolve Asian caucus
After losing her state’s gubernatorial primary last month, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is making headlines for seeking to abolish more than 20 caucuses and staff groups organized by race or ethnicity. Caucus chairs say the groups will outlast her.
DOJ says UC San Diego med school used race against Asian, white applicants
The Justice Department says UC San Diego’s med school lifted lower-scoring applicants into interviews through a shadow process even after the Supreme Court ended race-conscious admissions. This is the department’s third medical school finding in under three months, and nearly $1 billion in federal funding is at stake.
NYC man who stabbed Asian, Jewish victims faces hate crime charges
Two men were attacked four blocks apart on the Upper West Side within minutes … and both strangers to the suspect. Investigators initially treated only one as a hate crime. Prosecutors say the counts carry up to 40 years combined.
Chinese woman achieves historic first with ‘Nobel of mathematics’ win
Hong Wang is the first Chinese woman and third woman ever to win the Fields Medal. This stems from a proof she co-wrote, which settled how little space a line segment needs to turn through every direction. An MIT professor called it “a once in a century theorem.”
Why read Issue #239?
In this issue, we see the federal government moving against Asian American interests in some places while claiming to defend them in others. For one, a letter to the State Department would reach 265,000 students. Then a resolution would dissolve the caucus Asian American lawmakers use to coordinate. Meanwhile, a Justice Department finding says a California medical school passed over better-credentialed Asian applicants … and the department presents that finding as protection.
Asian Americans do not read these the same way. And the disagreement over admissions is real, not a lapse in solidarity. Reading the issue in full shows how much is being decided at once and how little of it points in one direction.
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The Rebel Yellow is supported in part by funding from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). Funders do not influence story selection, reporting, or editorial decisions. All editorial content is independently produced by The Rebel Yellow team.