Trump administration blocks Harvard from enrolling international students

The Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s authority to admit new international students on Thursday. The decision, which also threatens the visa status of current students studying there under special visas, marks an escalation in the U.S. government’s attacks against the prestigious educational institution — the oldest in the country — which has already faced significant funding freezes since the Republican’s return to the White House due to its refusal to comply with his ideological demands.

The news was first reported by The New York Times and later confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Its Secretary, Kristi Noem, sent a letter shared on X (formerly Twitter), warning academic authorities of the immediate revocation of Harvard University’s Student Exchange Program. “This means Harvard can no longer enroll foreign students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status,” a DHS press release clarified afterward.

Harvard, which has stood up to Trump’s attacks, responded on Thursday to the administration’s revocation, calling the action unlawful. “We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University — and this nation — immeasurably,” a spokesperson said in another statement.

It is expected that Harvard’s authorities will challenge the decision in court. Last month, the university also went to court to oppose the government’s attempts to curtail its academic freedom.

The measure — affecting around 6,800 people, approximately 27% of the student body — is part of the ongoing standoff between Harvard and DHS. The department requested confidential information from the university about its foreign students, claiming “many” of them are “agitators.”

The DHS release also claimed that Harvard’s leadership has “facilitated, and engaged in coordinated activity with the Chinese Communist Party, including hosting and training members of a Chinese Communist Party paramilitary group complicit in the Uyghur genocide.”

“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” said Secretary Noem. “It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments.”

This latest conflict dates back to mid-April, when Noem threatened Harvard with this measure if the university did not agree to share “relevant information” about all students in the U.S. on student visas who had been involved in “known illegal” or “dangerous” activities.

A 72-hour deadline

On Thursday, Noem warned that in order to regain the authority to enrol exchange students, the university must submit the information demanded by DHS within 72 hours. This includes video or audio recordings that could help identify individuals who participated in protests on Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, the city adjacent to Boston.

The Trump administration previously detained, revoked visas, and ordered the expulsion of several international students for participating in pro-Palestinian protests on campuses nationwide last academic year.

One week ago, the White House announced a cut of $450 million in federal grants to Harvard from eight agencies. This decision came nearly a month after another $2.2 billion funding freeze imposed by the U.S. government.

Trump accompanied the $2.2 billion funding freeze announced on April 15 with a threat to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status, citing the university’s refusal — unlike Columbia University — to comply with his administration’s demands to address alleged antisemitism on campus. “Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” the U.S. president wrote in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Harvard President Alan Garber responded at the time in a message to the university community, arguing that the White House’s demands jeopardized academic freedom. “[The administration] makes clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner,” Garber wrote on Harvard’s website. “Although some of the demands outlined by the government are aimed at combating antisemitism, the majority represent direct governmental regulation of the ‘intellectual conditions’ at Harvard.”

Beyond these financial threats, Harvard is also facing other fronts in the Trump administration’s offensive. The university is accused of possible civil rights violations in its handling of pro-Palestinian protests, and of alleged discrimination by the prestigious Harvard Law Review. According to the administration, the student-run journal selects its authors and content based on so-called “woke” motivations — an ongoing fixation of Trumpism.

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