Senator Ashley Moody Introduces Stop CCP VISAs Act to Crack Down on Foreign Espionage

Mar 25, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, Senator Ashley Moody announced the introduction of bold legislation to halt the issuance of student visas to nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) who, by PRC law, are required to steal research and intellectual property to bolster the PRC’s military and defense capabilities. TheStop Chinese Communist Prying by Vindicating Intellectual Safeguards in Academia Act(Stop CCP VISAs Act) takes action against the malign influence of the CCP in light of years of ample evidence of PRC students and researchers spying on the U.S. military and stealing advanced technology, research and intellectual property from American research institutions and companies. While this pattern of espionage has persisted for decades, these illicit activities went into overdrive after the PRC implemented its 2015 National Security Law whichrequiresPRC nationals to cooperate with the CCP on “matters of national security” and its 2017 National Intelligence Law which requires PRC nationals to assist in intelligence-gathering. Representative Riley Moore is leading the Stop CCP VISAs Act in the House of Representatives.
Senator Ashley Moodysaid, “For decades, the failed post-Cold War consensus assumed China would democratize and liberalize if we welcomed them into our markets, media, and universities. Instead, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took advantage of Americans’ goodwill and subversively exported agents to our shores to spy, oppress dissidents and enemies of the state, and steal publicly funded research and intellectual property to the tune of billions of dollars. Now, by law, nationals of the PRC are forced to engage in intelligence gathering and espionage, and those who refuse face retaliation and persecution against themselves and family members. It is unfortunate that the CCP’s draconian national security law requires us to take such drastic measures, but the risk of allowing this to continue unabated is too great to ignore.”
Congressman Riley Mooresaid, “Every year we allow nearly 300,000 Chinese nationals to come to the U.S. on student visas. We’ve literally invited the CCP to spy on our military, steal our intellectual property, and threaten national security. Just last year, the FBI charged five Chinese nationals here on student visas after they were caught photographing joint US-Taiwan live fire military exercises. This cannot continue. Congress needs to end China’s exploitation of our student visa program. It’s time we turn off the spigot and immediately ban all student visas going to Chinese nationals.”
While Senator Moody was Florida’s Attorney General, she defended the State of Florida from litigation over the implementation of a similar law to stop the Chinese Communist Party from influencing the state’s public colleges and universities.
There have been several documented cases from recent years that underscore the vital importance of this legislation, included but not limited to:
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