Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that the federal government would "aggressively revoke" visas for some Chinese students.
The move could affect thousands of students across the University of California system. Stett Holbrook, a spokesperson for the UC Office of the President, wrote in a statement that the office was concerned.
"Chinese students, as well as all our international students, scholars, faculty and staff, are vital members of our university community and contribute greatly to our research, teaching, patient care and public service mission," Holbrook wrote.
There are 3,826 Chinese students at UC San Diego, the largest international student population on campus. More than 2,000 of them are graduate students.
Chinese students bring a valuable perspective to class discussions, said Celia Xu, a business economics student at UCSD.
"We hear the same professors from the same companies coming in," she said. "Hearing it from an international scale or a different perspective entirely is really refreshing."
A loss of international students could have financial consequences for the UC system. At UCSD, out-of-state and international students pay an additional $34,200 in tuition. International students are generally ineligible for federal financial aid, such as Pell grants or work study.
On Friday, UCSD said it has not seen any changes to its Chinese students' records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a federal database with information about student visa holders. Universities have discovered previous visa revocations when checking that system.
The State Department has also stopped scheduling new visa interviews for international students. UCSD said it will continue to issue F-1 and J-1 visa forms in preparation for future interviews.
