The administration of US President Donald Trump on Thursday revoked Harvard's right to admit foreign nationals (more than a quarter of the student population). This has intensified the President's fight against the prestigious university.
The university, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, immediately criticized the move as "illegal" and said it would cause "serious harm" to both the campus and the country as a whole. Trump is furious with Harvard for denying admissions oversight and his claims that it is a hotbed of anti-Semitic and "awakened" liberal ideology. Harvard has produced 162 Nobel laureates.
"Effective immediately, Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor (SEVIS) program has been decertified," Interior Minister Kristy Noem wrote in a letter to the Ivy League institute, referring to the main system that allows foreign students to study in the United States.
Harvard immediately retaliated, calling the move "illegal" and suing the government against other punitive measures taken against it.
"We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host our international students and scholars," the university said in a statement. This retaliatory action threatens to cause serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission.'
Last month, Trump threatened to stop the university from admitting foreign students, saying that if Harvard does not accept the government's demands, the private institution will be excluded from political supervision.
'As I explained to you in my April letter, admitting foreign students is a privilege, all universities must comply with Home Office requirements, including reporting requirements under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program Regulations, to maintain this privilege', Noem wrote.
"Your refusal to comply with multiple requests to provide relevant information to the Home Office has resulted in you forfeiting this privilege while maintaining an unsafe campus environment hostile to Jewish students, promoting pro-Hamas sympathies and employing racist 'diversity, equality, and inclusion' policies," she wrote.
According to university data, more than 27 percent of Harvard's enrollment in the 2024-25 academic year was foreign students. 'No one knows what this development means for international students who are already enrolled,' said Alice Goyer, a fourth-year American student. Said, 'I hope that maybe there will be a legal battle.'
