Trump effectively bars foreign students from Harvard

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday effectively suspending the entry of foreign nationals at Harvard University who are seeking “to study or participate in exchange programs.”

In May, the Trump administration revoked Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, with a federal judge later upholding a block on the order. A press release from the White House said the new proclamation will now suspend any new Harvard student who is a nonimmigrant under F, M, or J visas.

“The Proclamation does not apply to aliens attending other U.S. universities through the Student Exchange Visa Program (SEVP) and exempts aliens whose entry is deemed in the national interest,” the statement reads.

Citing a list of reasons on how Harvard has “demonstrated” a history “of concerning foreign ties and radicalism,” the White House press statement accused the university of experiencing a “drastic rise in crime” while failing to “discipline at least some categories of conduct violations on campus.”

“Harvard is either not fully reporting its disciplinary records for foreign students or is not seriously policing its foreign students,” the statement reads.

In April, a battle over Harvard’s funds began after the Trump administration froze an additional $1 billion from the National Institutes of Health to the university, citing the school as being “intransigent with respect to obligations to protect students on this campus from the effects of insidious antisemitism.”

While the university sued the Trump administration over the pause, cuts continued before the Department of Homeland Security revoked the school’s ability to host foreign students due to its “toxic campus climate” in May.

The White House also called out Harvard’s ties to China, saying that the university “developed extensive entanglements with foreign adversaries,” and received over $150 million from the foreign country. An investigation by the Daily Caller News Foundation found that the school’s 2025 commencement speaker, “Luanna” Yurong Jiang, worked for an entity of the Chinese Communist Party that has ties to Beijing’s military and intelligence networks.

“The Chinese Communist Party has sent thousands of mid-career and senior bureaucrats to study at U.S. institutions, with Harvard University considered the top ‘party school’ outside the country. Xi Jinping’s own daughter attended Harvard as an undergraduate in the early 2010s,” the statement said.

Despite Harvard President Alan Garber vowing to address antisemitism on campus on April 30, the White House called out the university’s failure to resolve its “violent anti-Semitic incidents on campus,” saying that many of the agitators have been “found to be foreign students.” Additionally, the statement highlighted the school’s persistence in prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in its admissions.

“These concerns have compelled the Federal government to conclude that Harvard University is no longer a trustworthy steward of international student and exchange visitor programs,” the White House added.

In a statement released to the DCNF, the university called the administration’s decision “another illegal retaliatory step,” adding that it would continue to “protect” their international students.

“This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights. Harvard will continue to protect its international students,” a Harvard spokesperson said.

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