Trump administration blocks Harvard’s ability to enroll international students

Boston: US President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students on Thursday, and is forcing existing students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the department to terminate the Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, the department said in a statement. Noem accused the university of "fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party."

Harvard said the Trump administration move - which affects thousands of students - was illegal and amounted to retaliation.

The clampdown on foreign students marks a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign against the elite Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has emerged as one of Trump's most prominent institutional targets. The move comes after Harvard refused to provide information that Noem had previously demanded about some foreign student visa holders who attend the university, the department said.

“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," Noem said in a statement.

Harvard rejected the allegations and pledged to support foreign students.

“The government’s action is unlawful," the university said in a statement. "This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”

The university said it was "fully committed" to educating foreign students and was working on producing guidance for affected students.

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

Trump, a Republican, has undertaken an extraordinary effort to revamp private colleges and schools across the U.S. that he says foster anti-American, Marxist and "radical left" ideologies. He has criticized Harvard in particular for hiring prominent Democrats to teaching or leadership positions.