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Trump administration blocks Harvard's ability to enroll international students

Published: 23 May. 2025, 09:02

People enter and exit the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 15. [AFP/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students Thursday, in a sharp escalation of tensions with the elite school that has resisted the administration's efforts to promote its policy agenda.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the termination of the Ivy League school's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification. The termination means Harvard can no longer enroll foreign students, and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The department claimed that Harvard's leadership has "created an unsafe campus environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals, including many Jewish students, and otherwise obstruct its once-venerable learning environment."

Its move against Harvard has shocked many Korean and other foreign students who have been studying at the world's most sought-after school in the hopes of building academic careers and research portfolios to contribute to the global community.

"This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus," said Noem, as quoted in the press release.

"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," she added.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks during the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's 144th Commencement in New London, Connecticut, on May 21, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]

A Harvard spokesperson called the revoking of the SEVP certification "unlawful," according to The New York Times.

"We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the university — and this nation — immeasurably," Jason Newton, the university's director of media relations, was quoted by The New York Times as saying.

"We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community. This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission."

The SEVP certification termination could lead to another lawsuit by Harvard. Last month, the university sued the administration over its move to align the school with its agenda.

About 6,800 international students attended Harvard in the 2024-25 school year — about 27 percent of the student body, NYT reported, citing university enrollment data.

Yonhap