Washington, D.C. (June 25, 2020) – A new report by the Center for Immigration Studies outlines further actions needed to address the Chinese Communist Party's exploitation of U.S. academic and research institutions to steal technology and research.
The new report, "
Stopping Chinese Infiltration of U.S. Educational and Research Institutions", looks at actions taken since publication of a Center report last year on the security threats posed by foreign students and exchange scholars. It examines two major developments since that report – a series of arrests of people working on behalf of China and a presidential proclamation curtailing the activities of certain Chinese students and researchers. It also recommends further actions.
Dan Cadman, Center fellow and author of the report, said, “Additional steps must be taken to safeguard America's defense secrets and intellectual property through adoption of a systemic, interdisciplinary approach. This can be done, among other ways, through expansion of the directives contained in the president's proclamation, and through rigorous analysis and post-mortems of each case exposed, in order to determine how China exploits U.S. vulnerabilities."
To build on the success of the arrests and the proclamation, the report offers a series of recommendations:
- Denaturalization where appropriate.
- Expulsion of all foreign proxy spies
- Post-mortems of each case.
- Pursuit of proxy spies working for countries other than China.
- Educating researchers on federally funded projects on the importance of maintaining secrecy and security.
- Tightened control of universities and research facilities receiving U.S. funds.
- Oversight of key researchers' foreign travel and attendance at conferences, as already happens with federal government workers and contractors involved in sensitive work.
Cadman also recommends additions to the
Presidential Proclamation, which called for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the heads of appropriate agencies, to recommend further actions by the end of July. For example, visa-revocation language should be added to include those students and researchers presently in the U.S. as opposed to just those seeking admission; limitations should be imposed upon undergraduates and temporary workers; and there should be vigorous vetting of applicants for change of status, adjustment of status, and naturalization.
The new report follows an earlier backgrounder,
"How U.S. Foreign Student and Exchange Visitor Policies Undercut National Security", outlining how foreign students and exchange scholars represent a risk to U.S. economic and national security.
