WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott introduced the American Students First Act to cap the number of foreign students enrolled in American universities with F and M visas under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program at 10% of a school's total student body, with a potential waiver opportunity to increase enrollment to 15% for national security reasons. Current law does not limit the number of foreign students who can be enrolled in a university under the program. This shift will prioritize American student admissions at major universities and stop the exploitation of nations like Communist China in our higher education system.

Senator Rick Scott said, “The U.S. has world-renowned colleges and universities that students from around the globe aspire to attend, but that cannot come at the expense of opportunities for American students or our national security. We have seen our nation’s adversaries like Communist China use student visas to send members of the Communist Party into the United States as a tool to conduct espionage, intellectual property theft, and recently bring toxic biological pathogens into our nation. It’s a clear and dangerous loophole in the system. President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio’s efforts to review students’ visas and thoroughly vet all foreign nationals from adversarial nations, particularly Communist China, is critical to protect our students, safeguard our academic institutions, and defend American innovation and our national security interests. My American Students First Act is the next step to ensure taxpayer-funded institutions put American students first, and invest in our nation’s future success instead of selling out to foreign adversaries.”

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