A third of foreign graduate students studying STEM at U.S. universities are Chinese nationals—some with access to sensitive research.
U.S. agencies have identified several factors indicating the types of students—such as being from a country of concern like China—who may pose a greater risk of transferring technology to foreign entities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement keeps a database related to these factors but hasn’t assessed if it needs updating to capture additional data related to these risks. Also, some ICE data that may indicate students’ access to technology is incomplete.
