Judul : U.S govt sacks 70 foreign researchers over national security fears
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U.S govt sacks 70 foreign researchers over national security fears
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has terminated the contracts of approximately 70 foreign researchers following a national security review.
According to the US, the sack of 70 foreign researchers is aimed at safeguarding the United States’ food supply.
The affected individuals, many of whom were Chinese post-doctoral researchers, were working on USDA projects under temporary contracts.
A USDA spokesperson confirmed the development, stating that the department had “completed a thorough review of individuals authorised to work on contracts with the department and identified approximately 70 individuals from countries of concern.” These countries include China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
“The individuals working on these contracts from countries of concern will no longer be able to work on USDA projects,” the spokesperson added.
The decision follows the July 8 announcement by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins of a new farm security plan. The plan seeks to prevent nationals from adversarial countries from purchasing U.S. farmland and terminates existing research collaborations with those nations. Rollins said these steps were critical to protecting national food security.
However, the move has sparked concern within the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the USDA’s in-house research body. Thomas Henderson, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1657, which represents ARS workers in California said most of those let go were Chinese researchers on two-year contracts who had already undergone vetting before being hired.
Some of the dismissed researchers reportedly discovered they had been fired only when their access badges failed to work upon reporting to duty on July 9.
Due to a federal hiring freeze extended through October 15, the USDA is currently unable to replace the dismissed staff. Henderson warned that several ongoing research efforts, such as the development of a vaccine against a deadly beef toxin will be stalled indefinitely.
“We don’t have the talent now to progress on these research projects. It’s setting us back by years, if not decades,” he lamented.
The USDA has not publicly addressed the concerns about the setback to research capacity.
The ARS focuses on critical agricultural research areas such as pest control, food safety, and climate change issues vital to American farmers. In recent years, the agency has experienced significant staff losses, shedding over 1,200 workers around 17% of its 2024 workforce, due to both terminations and voluntary departure incentives introduced under President Donald Trump’s administration.
In addition to the firings, Secretary Rollins issued a directive barring USDA staff from publishing research alongside individuals from the four listed countries without prior agency approval. Attendance at events hosted by those countries was also prohibited.
According to Ethan Roberts, an ARS employee and president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3247, researchers were told that even ongoing publications would be reassessed. Any papers co-authored with nationals from China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea are now likely to be blocked from publication.
Before this new policy, there were already strict review protocols for collaborations with individuals from these nations, Roberts added.
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