Trump Administration bars Harvard University from enrolling foreign students

Mangalore Today News Network

Washington, May 23, 2025: The Trump administration on Thursday barred Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students. The administration also said that it would be doing so as an ongoing investigation into the university by the Department of Homeland Security. A letter has been sent to the university by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

She also said in an X post, “This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus”, and said that it’s a “privilege, not a right” to be able to enrol foreign students at the university.

She also said that the higher tuition fees from the foreign students "helps pad their multibillion-dollar endowments".

This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.

It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments… pic.twitter.com/12hJWd1J86

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 22, 2025

However, in the letter sent to Harvard University, it was mentioned that, if Harvard wants the opportunity of regaining Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification before the upcoming academic school year back, they should provide the "information required" within "72 hours".

This move by the Trump administration will force existing students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Harvard University has said that the move is a retaliatory action that threatens serious harm to the university. "The government’s action is unlawful. We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University – and this nation – immeasurably", the university said in a statement.

In April, US President Donald Trump had called Harvard a "joke" and said it should lose its government research contracts after the prestigious university refused demands that it accept outside political supervision.

"Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the World’s Great Universities or Colleges," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

He had threatened to ban the famed seat of learning from accepting foreign students unless it bowed to the requirements, as early as April.

According to university statistics, Harvard enrolled nearly 6,800 international students in the 2024-2025 school year, amounting to 27% of its total enrollment. 

Each year, anywhere from 500-800 Indian students and scholars study at Harvard, according to the official website of the university. Currently, 788 students from India are enrolled at Harvard University.