The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently completed a comprehensive national security review, deciding to terminate approximately 70 foreign contract researchers from countries listed as “countries of concern.” In the future, they will no longer be able to participate in USDA research programs.
On July 8, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a new round of agricultural security measures, prohibiting citizens from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from purchasing U.S. farmland and terminating research cooperation with these four countries. Rollins emphasized that these measures are crucial to safeguarding U.S. food security.
Thomas Henderson, Chairman of Local 1657 of the Federal Government Employees Union, stated that most of those who were terminated are Chinese postdoctoral researchers who had previously signed two-year contracts with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) under the USDA.
Henderson mentioned that some individuals only discovered their security badges were suddenly deactivated and they couldn’t enter the office when they arrived for work on the morning of July 9.
The freeze on federal government hiring has been extended until October 15.
The Agricultural Research Service is primarily engaged in research on pest control, food safety, and climate change, all of which are closely related to American farmers. However, according to Reuters, the organization has lost over 1,200 employees in recent years due to federal personnel policy adjustments and voluntary departure programs, accounting for more than 17% of its authorized staff in 2024.
Furthermore, in an internal memorandum on July 8, Agriculture Secretary Rollins also explicitly prohibited USDA employees from jointly publishing research findings with researchers from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea or participating in events organized by these countries without permission.
Ethan Roberts, Chairman of Local 3247 of the Federal Government Employees Union, revealed that all research papers currently under review that have co-authorship with researchers from the above-mentioned four countries will be rejected for publication.
What kind of subsequent impacts will this USDA measure have? This is something that we will continue to monitor closely.