{"id":334874,"date":"2026-01-16T11:17:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T16:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/?post_type=to4_article_post&#038;p=334874"},"modified":"2026-01-16T11:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T16:17:11","slug":"trump-admin-tells-usda-staff-to-investigate-foreign-scientists-they-work-with","status":"publish","type":"to4_article_post","link":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/articles\/trump-admin-tells-usda-staff-to-investigate-foreign-scientists-they-work-with\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Admin Tells USDA Staff to Investigate Foreign Scientists They Work With"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"truth-post-content-before\" id=\"truth-177062209\"><div class=\"popmake-campaign-banners-donate-modal callout callout inline-callout mb-5 callout--text callout--text\" id=\"truth-304042\" data-callout-id=\"304042\" data-callout-theme=\"text\" data-callout-placement=\"Undefined\" data-callout-title=\"BCB 304042 Truthout is a vital news source\"><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Truthout is a vital news source and a living history of political struggle. If you think our work is valuable, <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/support.truthout.org\/-\/XXQLBDSX\/&amp;utm_source=truthout&amp;utm_medium=bcb&amp;utm_campaign=304042\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">support us with a donation<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of any size.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><aside class=\"wp-block-truthout-aside-block\">\n      <p><em>This story was originally published by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/trump-usda-foreign-scientists\"><\/em>ProPublica.<em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n  <\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>The Trump administration is directing employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate foreign scientists who collaborate with the agency on research papers for evidence of \u201csubversive or criminal activity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new directive, part of a broader effort to increase scrutiny of research done with foreign partners, asks workers in the agency\u2019s research arm to use Google to check the backgrounds of all foreign nationals collaborating with its scientists. The names of flagged scientists are being sent to national security experts at the agency, according to records reviewed by <em>ProPublica<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a meeting last month, USDA supervisors pushed back against the instructions, with one calling it \u201cdystopic\u201d and others expressing shock and confusion, according to an audio recording reviewed by <em>ProPublica<\/em>.<\/p><div class=\"truth-post-content-high\" id=\"truth-3328091370\"><div class=\"callout inline-callout p-4 mb-5 callout--subscribe callout--light\" id=\"truth-255392\" data-callout-id=\"255392\" data-callout-theme=\"light\" data-callout-placement=\"Post Content - High\" data-callout-title=\"Never miss another story\"><h4>Never miss another story<\/h4>\n<p>Get the news you want, delivered to your inbox every day.<\/p>\n<script>\nvar 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);\n<\/script>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The USDA frequently collaborates with scientists based at universities in the U.S. and abroad. Some agency workers told <em>ProPublica<\/em> they were uncomfortable with the new requirement because they felt it could put those scientists in the crosshairs of the administration. Students and postdocs are particularly vulnerable as many are in the U.S. on temporary visas and green cards, the employees said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jennifer Jones, director for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, called the directive a \u201cthrowback to McCarthyism\u201d that could encourage scientists to avoid working with the \u201cbest and brightest\u201d researchers from around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAsking scientists to spy on and report on their fellow co-authors\u201d is a \u201cclassic hallmark of authoritarianism,\u201d Jones said. The Union of Concerned Scientists is an organization that advocates for scientific integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jones, who hadn\u2019t heard of the instructions until contacted by <em>ProPublica<\/em>, said she had never witnessed policies so extreme during prior administrations or in her former career as an academic scientist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new policy applies to pending scientific publications co-authored by employees in the USDA\u2019s Agricultural Research Service, which conducts research on crop yields, invasive species, plant genetics and other agricultural issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The USDA instructed employees to stop agency researchers from collaborating on or publishing papers with scientists from \u201ccountries of concern,\u201d including China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the agency is also vetting scientists from nations not considered \u201ccountries of concern\u201d before deciding whether USDA researchers can publish papers with them. Employees are including the names of foreign co-authors from nations such as Canada and Germany on lists shared with the department\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usda.gov\/about-usda\/general-information\/staff-offices\/departmental-administration\/office-homeland-security-ohs\">Office of Homeland Security<\/a>, according to records reviewed by <em>ProPublica.<\/em> That office leads the USDA\u2019s security initiatives and includes a division that works with federal intelligence agencies. The records don\u2019t say what the office plans to do with the lists of names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asked about the changes, the USDA sent a statement noting that in his first term, President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov\/presidential-actions\/presidential-memorandum-united-states-government-supported-research-development-national-security-policy\/\">signed a memorandum<\/a> designed to strengthen protections of U.S.-funded research across the federal government against foreign government interference. \u201cUSDA under the Biden Administration spent four years failing to implement this directive,\u201d the statement said. The agency said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last year rolled out \u201clong-needed changes within USDA\u2019s research enterprise, including a prohibition on authoring a publication with a foreign national from a country of concern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>International research has been essential to the Agricultural Research Service\u2019s work, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ars.usda.gov\/office-of-international-research-engagement-and-cooperation\/office-of-international-research-engagement-and-cooperation\/\">page of the USDA website<\/a> last updated in 2024: \u201cFrom learning how to mitigate diseases before they reach the United States, to testing models and crops in diverse growing conditions, to accessing resources not available in the United States, cooperation with international partners provides solutions to current and future agricultural challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, the U.S. government has long been worried about agricultural researchers acting as spies, sometimes with good reason. In 2016, the Chinese scientist Mo Hailong was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archives\/opa\/pr\/chinese-national-sentenced-prison-conspiracy-steal-trade-secrets\">sentenced to three years in prison<\/a> for conspiring to steal patented corn seeds. And in 2022, Xiang Haitao, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archives\/opa\/pr\/chinese-national-pleads-guilty-economic-espionage-conspiracy\">admitted to stealing a trade secret from Monsanto<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/blog\/foreign-investment-u.s.-agricultural-land-raising-national-security-concerns\">National security<\/a> questions have also been raised about recent increases in foreign ownership of agricultural land. In 2022, Congress allocated money for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.secure-center.org\/\">center to educate U.S. researchers<\/a> about how to safeguard their data in international collaborations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since Trump took office last year, foreign researchers have faced increased obstacles. In March, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/mar\/19\/trump-musk-french-scientist-detained\">a French researcher traveling to a conference was denied entry<\/a> to the U.S. after a search of his phone at the airport turned up messages critical of Trump. The National Institutes of Health <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/researchers-china-and-five-other-countries-concern-barred-nih-databases\">blocked researchers from China, Russia<\/a> and other \u201ccountries of concern\u201d from accessing various biomedical databases last spring. And in August, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dhs.gov\/news\/2025\/08\/27\/trump-administration-proposes-new-rule-end-foreign-student-visa-abuse\">Department of Homeland Security proposed<\/a> shortening the length of time foreign students could remain in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the latest USDA instructions represent a significant escalation, casting suspicion on all researchers from outside the U.S. and asking agency staff to vet the foreign nationals they collaborate with. It\u2019s unclear if employees at other federal agencies have been given similar directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new USDA policy was announced internally in November and followed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usda.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/sm-1078-014.pdf\">July memo<\/a> from Rollins that highlighted the national security risks of working with scientists who are not U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cForeign competitors benefit from USDA-funded projects, receiving loans that support overseas businesses, and grants that enable foreign competitors to undermine U.S. economic and strategic interests,\u201d Rollins wrote in the memo. \u201cPreventing this is the responsibility of every USDA employee.\u201d The memo called for the department to \u201cplace America First\u201d by taking a number of steps, including scrutinizing and making lists of the agency\u2019s arrangements to work with foreign researchers and prohibiting USDA employees from participating in foreign programs to recruit scientists, \u201cmalign or otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rollins, a lawyer who studied agricultural development, co-founded the pro-Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americafirstpolicy.com\/?__cf_chl_tk=yYqQRZ4L.iYcgTxrkvnOTMCRjIQ7uC_KXY8E01RC5fc-1768241175-1.0.1.1-BJ5HRA8jC5NJne.booMqTLrt68IOyWosw2MufVpheYw\">America First Policy Institute<\/a> before being tapped to head the agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There have long been restrictions on collaborating with researchers from certain countries, such as Iran and China. But these new instructions create blanket bans on working with scientists from \u201ccountries of concern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a late November email to staff members of the Agricultural Research Service at one area office, a research leader instructed managers to immediately stop all research with scientists who come from \u2014 or collaborate with institutions in \u2014 \u201ccountries of concern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The email also instructed employees to reject papers with foreign authors if they deal with \u201csensitive subjects\u201d such as \u201cdiversity\u201d or \u201cclimate change.\u201d National security concerns were listed as another cause for rejection, with USDA research service employees instructed to ask if a foreigner could use the research against American farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the audio recording of the December meeting, some employees expressed alarm about the instructions to investigate their fellow scientists. The \u201cpart of figuring out if they are foreign \u2026 by Googling is very dystopic,\u201d said one person at the meeting, which involved leadership from the Agricultural Research Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Faced with questions about how to ascertain the citizenship of a co-author, another person at the meeting said researchers should do their best with a Google search, then put the name on the list \u201cand let Homeland Security do their behind the scenes search.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rollins\u2019 July memo specifies that, within 60 days of receiving a list of \u201ccurrent arrangements\u201d that involve foreign people or entities, the USDA\u2019s Office of Homeland Security along with its offices of Chief Scientist and General Counsel should decide which arrangements to terminate. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/07\/23\/g-s1-78759\/usda-foreign-trump-cuts\">The USDA laid off 70 employees<\/a> from \u201ccountries of concern\u201d last summer as a result of the policy change laid out in the memo, <em>NPR<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The USDA and Department of Homeland Security declined to answer questions about what happens to the foreign researchers flagged by the staff beyond potentially having their research papers rejected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The documents also suggested new guidance would be issued on Jan. 1, but the USDA employees <em>ProPublica<\/em> interviewed said that the vetting work was continuing and that they had not received any written updates. The staff spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren\u2019t authorized to talk publicly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scientists are often evaluated based on their output of new scientific research. Delaying or denying publication of pending papers could derail a researcher\u2019s career. Over the past 40 years, the number of international collaborations among scientists has increased across the board, according to Caroline Wagner, an emeritus professor of public policy at the Ohio State University. \u201cThe more elite the researcher, the more likely they\u2019re working at the international level,\u201d said Wagner, who has spent more than 25 years researching international collaboration in science and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The changes in how the USDA is approaching collaboration with foreign researchers, she said, \u201cwill certainly reduce the novelty, the innovative nature of science and decrease these flows of knowledge that have been extremely productive for science over the last years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/mica-rosenberg\">Mica Rosenberg<\/a> contributed reporting. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/adriana-pera\">Adriana Pera<\/a> contributed research.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/pixel.propublica.org\/pixel.js\" async><\/script><\/p><div class=\"truth-post-content-after\" id=\"truth-753295722\"><div class=\"callout inline-callout p-4 mb-5 callout-- callout--white\" id=\"truth-334871\" data-callout-id=\"334871\" data-callout-theme=\"white\" data-callout-placement=\"Post Content - After\" data-callout-title=\"2026-01 Main Campaign (FRU) Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.\">\n<div class=\"p-2 text-start\">\n<h5 class=\"pb-2\" style=\"text-transform: uppercase; font-family: var(--bs-font-sans-serif); text-align: center;\">Trump is silencing political dissent. We appeal for your support.<\/h5>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Progressive nonprofits are the latest target caught in Trump\u2019s crosshairs. With the aim of eliminating political opposition, Trump and his sycophants are working to curb government funding, constrain private foundations, and even cut tax-exempt status from organizations he dislikes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>We\u2019re concerned, because Truthout is not immune to such bad-faith attacks.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can only resist Trump\u2019s attacks by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-3\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Truthout has launched a fundraiser to raise $45,000 in the next 8 days. <\/strong>Please take a meaningful action in the fight against authoritarianism: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout. If you have the means, please dig deep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"m-0\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"#XEGQPXGY\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s unclear if employees at other federal agencies have been given similar directions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":334875,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[91698],"tags":[2211,3848,2319,910],"section":[44],"primary_topic":[35],"series":[],"admin_tag":[],"class_list":["post-334874","to4_article_post","type-to4_article_post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-authoritarianism","tag-trump-administration","tag-usda","tag-xenophobia","section-politics-and-elections","primary_topic-politics"],"acf":[],"related_articles":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/to4_article_post\/334874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/to4_article_post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/to4_article_post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334874"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=334874"},{"taxonomy":"primary_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/primary_topic?post=334874"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=334874"},{"taxonomy":"admin_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/truthout.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/admin_tag?post=334874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}