Nikki Haley, former U.N. ambassador under President Donald Trump, slammed Trump’s proposal to admit 600,000 Chinese students to U.S. colleges, calling it a “massive mistake” and a threat to national security. The rebuke drew attention from conservatives who were surprised to see Haley take a harder line on China than Trump himself.
“That would be a huge gift to China and a threat to the United States,” Haley wrote on X on November 13.
Trump first proposed the 600,000 figure in August, prompting backlash from critics concerned about espionage, intellectual property theft, and CCP infiltration at American universities. The Biden-era policy recorded 277,000 Chinese students studying in the U.S. during the 2023–2024 academic year.
The Trump campaign later clarified that the 600,000 number referred to visa totals over two years, effectively mirroring the current pace of student admissions. Trump defended the plan in a recent Fox News appearance, emphasizing the economic importance of international tuition revenue to U.S. colleges, saying, “If we were to cut that in half…you would have half the colleges in the United States go out of business.”
Trump added, “One thing you don’t want to do is cut half the students from all over the world who are coming into our country and destroy our entire university system.”
Critics in conservative circles argued that economic gain doesn’t justify compromising national security. Haley’s statement aligned with concerns that China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law—which requires citizens and entities to assist Beijing’s intelligence efforts—puts every Chinese national studying in the U.S. at risk of becoming a CCP asset.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham confronted Trump on the issue, citing China’s aggressive surveillance and theft of American research. Trump pushed back, comparing China unfavorably to France but reiterated his view of higher education as a business.
The clash between Trump and Haley marks a rare moment where Haley positioned herself to the right of the former president on immigration and China. It has stirred renewed debate among conservatives over balancing economic interests with national security, especially when dealing with the Chinese Communist Party.
