Trump Administration Bars Enrolment of Foreign Students in Harvard University

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The Department of Homeland Security announced the action, saying Harvard has created an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus. It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, saying it hosted and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024.

The Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students in its escalating battle with the Ivy League school, saying thousands of current students must transfer to other schools or leave the country.

The Department of Homeland Security announced the action, saying Harvard has created an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus. It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, saying it hosted and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024.

This means Harvard can no longer enrol foreign students, and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status, the agency said in a statement.

Harvard enrols almost 6,800 foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, accounting for more than a quarter of its student body. Most are graduate students, coming from more than 100 countries. Harvard called the action unlawful and said it’s working to guide students.

The Trump administration’s clash with Harvard, the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, has intensified since it became the first to openly defy White House demands for changes at elite schools it has criticised as hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism. The federal government has cut US$2.6 billion in federal grants to Harvard, forcing it to self-fund much of its sprawling research operation. President Donald Trump has said he wants to strip the university of its tax-exempt status. The administration has demanded records of campus protests.

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The threat to Harvard’s international enrollment stems from an April 16 request from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who demanded that it provide information about foreign students that might implicate them in violence or protests that could lead to their deportation.

The action revoked Harvard’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which enables the university to sponsor international students to get their visas and attend school in the United States.