The Trump administration directed employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate foreign scientists collaborating on research for evidence of “subversive or criminal activity,” a move raising concerns about academic freedom and national security overreach.
New Scrutiny of Foreign Researchers Sparks Internal Pushback
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The directive asks USDA workers to vet foreign scientists using online searches and report findings to national security experts.
- The USDA is now requiring background checks on foreign scientists collaborating on research projects.
- These checks involve using Google to search for potentially compromising information.
- Internal dissent arose, with some supervisors calling the directive “dystopic.”
- The policy extends to researchers from countries not traditionally considered security threats.
The new directive, part of a broader effort to increase scrutiny of research involving foreign partners, instructs workers in the agency’s 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 within the agency, according to reviewed records.
Internal Concerns and a “Dystopic” Order
At a meeting last month, USDA supervisors voiced strong opposition to the instructions, with one describing the order as “dystopic” and others expressing shock and confusion, as captured in an audio recording. The USDA frequently collaborates with scientists at universities both in the U.S. and abroad, and some agency employees expressed discomfort with the new requirement, fearing it could unfairly target these researchers.
Students and postdoctoral researchers are particularly vulnerable, as many are in the U.S. on temporary visas and green cards, employees noted. Jennifer Jones, director for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, characterized the directive as a “throwback to McCarthyism” that could discourage collaboration with “the best and brightest” researchers globally.
“Asking scientists to spy on and report on their fellow co-authors” is a “classic hallmark of authoritarianism,” Jones said. She added that she had never witnessed policies so extreme during prior administrations or in her career as an academic scientist.
Policy Details and “Countries of Concern”
The new policy applies to pending scientific publications co-authored by employees in the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, which conducts research on crop yields, invasive species, plant genetics, and other agricultural issues. The USDA instructed employees to halt collaboration on, or publication of, papers with scientists from “countries of concern,” including China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
However, the agency is also vetting scientists from nations not considered “countries of concern” before allowing USDA researchers to publish with them. Employees are including the names of foreign co-authors from countries like Canada and Germany on lists shared with the department’s Office of Homeland Security, which leads the USDA’s security initiatives and collaborates with federal intelligence agencies. The records do not detail how the office intends to use these lists.
In a statement, the USDA noted that President Donald Trump signed a memorandum during his first term aimed at strengthening protections for U.S.-funded research against foreign government interference. The agency stated that the Biden Administration had “failed to implement this directive” for four years, and that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last year implemented “long-needed changes,” including a prohibition on publishing with foreign nationals from “countries of concern.”
International research is vital to the Agricultural Research Service’s work, according to a page on the USDA website updated in 2024: “From 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.”
Past Concerns and Recent Obstacles
The U.S. government has long been concerned about agricultural researchers potentially acting as spies, and there have been instances where these concerns proved valid. In 2016, Chinese scientist Mo Hailong was sentenced to three years in prison for conspiring to steal patented corn seeds. In 2022, Xiang Haitao admitted to stealing a trade secret from Monsanto.
National security concerns have also been raised regarding increasing foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land. In 2022, Congress allocated funding for a center to educate U.S. researchers on safeguarding data in international collaborations.
Since Trump took office last year, foreign researchers have faced increased obstacles. In March, a French researcher was denied entry to the U.S. after a phone search revealed messages critical of Trump. The National Institutes of Health blocked researchers from China, Russia, and other “countries of concern” from accessing biomedical databases last spring. In August, the Department of Homeland Security proposed shortening the length of stay for foreign students.
However, the latest USDA instructions represent a significant escalation, casting suspicion on all researchers from outside the U.S. and requiring agency staff to vet their foreign collaborators. It remains unclear if other federal agencies have received similar directives.
Internal Memo and “America First” Policy
The new USDA policy was announced internally in November, following a July memo from Rollins that emphasized the national security risks of collaborating with non-U.S. citizens. “Foreign 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,” Rollins wrote. “Preventing this is the responsibility of every USDA employee.”
The memo called for the department to “place America First” by scrutinizing arrangements with foreign researchers and prohibiting participation in foreign recruitment programs. Rollins, a lawyer specializing in agricultural development, co-founded the pro-Trump America First Policy Institute before becoming head of the agency.
While restrictions on collaboration with certain countries like Iran and China have existed previously, these new instructions create blanket bans for scientists from “countries of concern.” A late November email to staff at one Agricultural Research Service area office instructed managers to immediately halt all research with scientists from—or collaborating with institutions in—these countries.
The email also instructed employees to reject papers with foreign authors if they addressed “sensitive subjects” like “diversity” or “climate change,” citing national security concerns and questioning whether the research could be used against American farmers.
In the December meeting recording, employees expressed alarm about the instructions to investigate their colleagues. One participant stated that “the part of figuring out if they are foreign…by Googling is very dystopic.” Another suggested researchers should do their best with a Google search and then submit the name for a “behind the scenes search” by Homeland Security.
Rollins’ July memo specified that within 60 days of receiving lists of “current arrangements” involving foreign entities, the USDA’s Office of Homeland Security, along with the offices of Chief Scientist and General Counsel, should decide which arrangements to terminate. The USDA laid off 70 employees from “countries of concern” last summer as a result of the policy change, NPR reported.
The USDA and Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on what happens to researchers flagged by staff beyond potential rejection of their research papers. Documents suggest new guidance was planned for January 1, but USDA employees interviewed reported no written updates and continued vetting work.
Scientists are often evaluated based on their research output, and delaying or denying publication could jeopardize a researcher’s career. Caroline Wagner, an emeritus professor of public policy at the Ohio State University, noted that international collaborations have increased over the past 40 years. “The more elite the researcher, the more likely they’re working at the international level,” she said, adding that the changes in USDA’s approach “will certainly reduce the novelty, the innovative nature of science and decrease these flows of knowledge.”
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