WASHINGTON (AP) – A 22-year-old Chinese philosophy student was not expecting any issues after a 29-hour flight arrived at Texas airport this month on his way to study at the University of Houston.
His papers were in place. He was trying to study the humanities – not a technical field that could raise doubts. He had a full scholarship from a US school and previously spent his semester at Cornell University and had a no-go exchange program.
However, the student, who asked to be identified only by his last name due to the political sensitivity in question, stopped, was interrogated and boarded a plane that returned to China 36 hours later.
He was also banned from returning for five years, suddenly stopping his dream of an academic career in the United States.
“There’s no opportunity in the life I was expecting,” Gu said.
He is one of an unknown number of Chinese students, having been sent back to China or faced intense questions after his arrival, sparking strong protests from Beijing, and having received permission to enter the United States, showing uncertainty from the president. Donald Trump’s Shift policy.
His administration was soon pivoted from a Plans to cancel visas for Chinese students He would do so to himself Trump Welcome like hundreds of thousandsin part, helps bring American schools to the surface.
The US has restrictions on Chinese students
Still, some officials and lawmakers have expressed doubts about Chinese students, particularly those studying advanced technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence, and the relationship between the Chinese government and the military. Some lawmakers I want to ban Chinese students Overall.
There is no immediate data on how Chinese students with valid visas have been questioned and deported from US airports in recent weeks. US Customs and Border Protection did not respond to requests for that data or comment on Chinese students who are being questioned or sent.
Recently, Trump said He told Chinese President Xi Jinping “It’s an honor to have students here,” he added, “Now we’ll check, be careful and see who’s there.”
The Chinese Embassy said more than 10 Chinese students and academics received reports that included interrogation, harassment and deportation when they entered the United States
“The US side is discriminatory and politically driven against Chinese students and academics, frequently implementing selective law enforcement, causing physical and mental harm, economic losses and disruption to their careers,” the Chinese Embassy said in a statement.
They were “repatriated under the pretext of what is called a ‘visa issue’ or “they could put US national security at risk,” the embassy said.
Students and academics were taken to small rooms for questioning, repeatedly questioned about issues unrelated to academic work, and forced to wait long hours in cold rooms without blankets or quilts, the embassy said. Some rely on aluminum foil to keep them warm, while others have been detained for more than 80 hours.
Such actions by the US side “contradict a statement” Trump made, the embassy said, accusing some U.S. department and law enforcement officials of “failing to act faithfully to the president’s commitment.” The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
One Chinese student had no concerns as he headed to the US.
Gu told AP he loved his Cornell experience so much that he applied for a master’s program to study philosophy in the US
Despite reports of stricter policies by the Trump administration, Goo said he wasn’t too worried, even when he first stopped and was taken to a room for customs officers to question him after landing at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. His belongings were searched and his electronics were stolen, he said.
After officers passed the device, he began questioning the GU, focusing on Chinese ties with the Communist Party, Gu said.
He said his parents were members of the party, but he has never attended, but he – like almost all Chinese teens and young people, he is a member of the Communist Party Youth League, the party’s youth group.
Customs officials also burned him about his connections with the government’s China Scholarship Council, which appeared in the history of his chat. Gu came up in a chat with his school alumni but said he had not received money from the Chinese government.
Three rounds of interrogation lasted for 10 hours before the GU was told they would be deported. No specific reasons were given, he said, and the removal documents he provided to the AP showed insufficient documents.
By then, he had not slept for 40 hours. The waiting room where he was kept was lit 24 hours a day, causing room temperatures to cool.
“I was so nervous that I was shaking because of both the cold freezing and the nerves,” Gu said. “I was deported because I was now passing through my head. What should I do in the future?”
It will be another day when he will be placed on the flight. Currently, Gu is considering sueing a decision, but that could take years and cost thousands of dollars.
