Trump bars Harvard international enrolment: How many students will it hurt?

Kristi Noem, the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has revoked Harvard’s certification to enrol any new foreign students. Foreign students already enrolled at the college must now transfer to another school or lose their legal status in the US.

The government’s move, announced on Thursday, is the latest in escalating tensions between Harvard University and the Trump administration.What does Kristi Noem’s letter bar Harvard from doing?
In a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber, Homeland Security Secretary Noem announced that Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification would be revoked, “effective immediately”.

This means Harvard can no longer enrol any new students on “F-” or “J-” visas which are typically required to attend a US university as a non-immigrant. Students already at Harvard on these visas will be required to transfer to another school if they want to remain in the US legally.Noem accused the university of “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party”.

In an earlier letter on April 16, the DHS had threatened to revoke Harvard’s eligibility to enrol international students unless it submits information on international students’ disciplinary records and protest participation.Why is Trump targeting Harvard?
Tensions have been mounting with Harvard since student protests against Israel’s war on Gaza swept campuses last year.The Trump administration accused Harvard of creating an “unsafe and hostile” campus, specifically citing antisemitic incidents and a failure to curb “pro-Hamas activism”. Officials also criticised the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies as discriminatory, and raised suspicions over alleged ties to Chinese institutions, though no direct evidence has been made public.

In April, the Trump administration froze nearly $2.3bn in federal funding to Harvard over what it claimed was its failure to tackle rampant anti-Semitism on campus.

The administration announced the freeze after Harvard rejected a series of demands that it said would subject the university to undue government control, including that it accede to external audits of faculty and students to ensure “viewpoint diversity”. The DHS also demanded detailed records on international students, including any disciplinary actions and potential security concerns.

In May, US Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon wrote to Harvard, saying the elite university had made a “mockery” of higher education and should no longer seek federal grants, “since none will be provided”.