Michigan State University is urging its international students not the leave the U.S. following a rash of alleged crimes committed by Chinese students that’s prompting federal actions.
MSU’s Office for International Students and Scholars known as OISS “strongly” recommends foreign students remain in the country amid a shift in student visa policies at the U.S. Department of State, according to a Tuesday email from OISS Director Krista McCallum cited by Michigan Advance.
The message comes in response to a statement issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week regarding visas for Chinese students studying in the U.S.
“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,” the statement read. “We will also revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong.”
MSU contends that means visa interview appointments are on hold, and international students who leave the U.S. could face complications upon return.
“Our current understanding is that previously scheduled visa interview appointments will proceed as planned. However, most embassies and consulates have suspended scheduling new appointments,” the notice read.
“For students and scholars inside the U.S.: We strongly advise that you do not travel outside the United States,” McCallum wrote.
“I understand that this news and the uncertainty surrounding it may be frustrating,” the email read. “Please know that MSU remains strongly committed to our international Spartan community. We will continue to welcome students and scholars from around the world, and we will advocate for policies that support your presence and success.”
Diego Granados, a PhD student from Mexico, contends the “message is formalizing a feeling we already had, that even if you have legal status and you’re pursing a degree, going back home is now something risky.
“It might go wrong,” he told the Advance. “You might not be able to come back.”
The situation follows numerous concerning incidents involving alleged crimes committed by visiting Chinese students at the University of Michigan and beyond that have raised serious national security concerns in recent months.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced charges of smuggling, false statements and visa fraud against University of Michigan researcher Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend, Zunyong Liu, 34, over their alleged attempt to smuggle a biological pathogen through the Detroit airport.
“The FBI arrested Jian in connection with allegations related to Jian’s and Liu’s smuggling into America a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon,” according to the attorney’s office. “This noxious fungus causes ‘head blight,’ a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, and is responsible for billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide each year.”
FBI Director Kash Patel described the case in a post to X on Tuesday as “a sobering reminder that the (Chinese Communist Party) is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply, which would have grave consequences … putting American lives and our economy at serious risk.”
Authorities contend electronic devices belonging to Jian, listed as a postdoctoral fellow on the UM website, contained documents that pledged allegiance to the CCP, as well as evidence of prior seemingly successful attempts to smuggle biological samples into the U.S.
“This case should be fully prosecuted as a threat against our country,” Congressman John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on the CCP, said in a statement. “This is only further proof that American universities must be more vigilant when it comes to research security and the participation of Chinese nationals in these institutions.”
Moolenaar is leading efforts in Congress to raise awareness about China’s efforts to infiltrate and influence U.S. operations, and previously called on Michigan universities to cut ties with Chinese institutions. UM, Eastern Michigan University, and Oakland University have since ended their relationships with Chinese universities.
The charges against Liu and Jian, unsealed Tuesday, followed just days after prosecutors on Friday unsealed another criminal case against a Chinese student at the University of Michigan.
That case involves Haoxiang Gao, 20, who cast an illegal ballot in October that was counted in the 2024 election. Gao surrendered a Chinese passport to face state charges, but used a second passport to board a plane to Shanghai in January, according to the federal criminal complaint cited by The Detroit News.
The fungus smuggling case is also at least the second FBI counterintelligence investigation into UM students from China in the last year, with the other involving federal charges filed in October against five University of Michigan graduates from China for spying on the Camp Grayling National Guard Base during a military training involving Taiwanese solders in 2023.
Authorities allege the group was found with cameras near military vehicles, tents and classified communications equipment as soldiers conducted Northern Strike, one of the largest training exercises in the U.S.
All of the Chinese students involved in the federal investigations have returned to China, with the exception of Jian, who is scheduled for a detention hearing today and faces up to two decades in federal prison, according to The Detroit News.
