Trump Admin Tells USDA Staff to Investigate Foreign Scientists They Work With

"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 "subversive or criminal activity." The new directive, part of a broader effort to increase scrutiny of research done with foreign partners, asks workers in the agency's research arm to use Google to check the backgrounds of all foreign nationals collaborating with its scientists."

"At a meeting last month, USDA supervisors pushed back against the instructions, with one calling it "dystopic" and others expressing shock and confusion, according to an audio recording reviewed by ProPublica. The USDA frequently collaborates with scientists based at universities in the U.S. and abroad. Some agency workers told ProPublica they were uncomfortable with the new requirement because they felt it could put those scientists in the crosshairs of the administration."

USDA employees have been instructed to screen foreign scientists who collaborate on agency research for signs of "subversive or criminal activity." The requirement directs research staff to use Google to check backgrounds of all foreign nationals working with agency scientists. Names of flagged collaborators are being forwarded to national security experts within the agency. Supervisors protested the instruction at a meeting, describing it as dystopic and expressing shock and confusion. Agency workers said the policy could place international colleagues—especially students and postdocs on temporary visas or green cards—at increased risk and could discourage global scientific collaboration.

Read at Truthout