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The US government has announced it will utilize “every tool” available to assess visa applicants, following reports that the Trump administration plans to limit applications from those aiming to study in the country.

According to Politico, Secretary of State Marco Rubio dispatched a diplomatic cable on Tuesday, directing US embassies to cease scheduling interviews for new student visa applicants. This move coincides with the administration’s efforts to enhance the screening of applicants’ social media activities.

The cable reportedly stated, “Effective immediately, in anticipation of an expansion in the mandatory social media screening and vetting process, consular sections should refrain from adding any new student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is provided.”

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to comment on Tuesday directly on the cable report but defended the administration’s approach to reviewing visa applications.

“We use every tool in our tool chest to vet anyone coming in,” Bruce said. “That is nothing new, and we will continue to use every tool that we can to assess who it is that is coming here, whether they are students or otherwise.”

The White House declined to comment.

The reports come as President Donald Trump escalates his attacks on some of America’s most prestigious universities, including over their treatment of foreign students. He has already cancelled billions of dollars in federal funding for institutions including Harvard and Columbia.

Trump has accused elite universities of allowing hate speech and failing to tackle antisemitism in recent years, while the president’s critics have accused him of launching an assault on free speech and academic freedom.

Last week, secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem told Harvard she had revoked its programme for certifying international students “effective immediately”. The move would in effect ban Harvard from enrolling thousands of foreign students in the autumn. The Ivy League university secured a court order temporarily blocking the plan.

US immigration authorities have also made several high-profile arrests across college campuses in recent months, including the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate who was taken into custody for his involvement in pro-Palestine campus protests last year.

Bruce said on Tuesday that the state department would not discuss specific cases or “methods” for vetting visa applicants, but said it was a “goal” of Trump and Rubio “to make sure that people who are here . . . understand what the law is, that they don’t have any criminal intent”.

Universities have warned that the administration’s policies could deter overseas students from wanting to study in the US. About 1.1mn international students are enrolled in American universities, according to the non-profit Institute of International Education.

Studyportals, a provider of higher education data, said there was a 50 per cent drop in international students researching US options from January to April, as potential applicants increasingly explored alternatives in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Studyportals projected that if the current pattern continued, demand for US places could drop 70 per cent year on year in 2025.

“Every student who decides against America isn’t just lost tuition money — it’s lost talent,” said Edwin van Rest, co-founder of Studyportals.