US govt revokes Harvard's right to enroll foreign students

NEW YORK, May 23 (AFP/Reuters): Donald Trump's administration on Thursday revoked Harvard's ability to enroll foreign nationals, putting the future of thousands of students at risk and threatening the prestigious university with a huge financial blow.
The school in Cambridge, Massachusetts quickly slammed the move as "unlawful" and said it would hurt both the campus and the country, while one student said the community was "panicking."
Trump is furious at Harvard-which has produced 162 Nobel prize winners-for rejecting his demand that it submit to oversight on admissions and hiring over his claims that it is a hotbed of anti-Semitism and "woke" liberal ideology.
The loss of foreign nationals-more than a quarter of its student body-could prove to be a huge financial blow to Harvard, which charges tens of thousands of dollars a year in tuition.
"Effective immediately, Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor (SEVIS) Program certification is revoked," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a letter to the Ivy League institution, referring to the main system by which foreign students are permitted to study in the United States.
Harvard, which has sued the government over a separate raft of punitive measures, fired back, calling the move "unlawful."
"We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host our international students and scholars," it said in a statement, adding that it was working to offer students guidance and support.
"This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission."
Karl Molden, an international student from Austria, said he had applied to study at Oxford in Britain because he feared such measures.
"It's scary and it's saddening," the 21-year-old government and classics student told AFP.
"I love Harvard, and getting into the school has been the greatest privilege of my life.
"It's definitely going to change the perception of... students who (might) consider studying there-the US is getting less of an attractive spot for higher education."
Leaders of the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors called the move "the latest in a string of nakedly authoritarian and retaliatory moves against America's oldest institution of higher education."
"The Trump administration is unlawfully seeking to destroy higher education in the United States. It now demands that we sacrifice our international students in the process. Universities cannot acquiesce to such extortion," it said.
Last month, Trump threatened to stop Harvard from enrolling foreign students if it did not agree to government demands that would put the private institution under outside political supervision.
"As I explained to you in my April letter, it is a privilege to enroll foreign students," Noem wrote.
"All universities must comply with Department of Homeland Security requirements, including reporting requirements under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program regulations, to maintain this privilege," she said.
More than 27 percent of Harvard's enrollment was made up of foreign students in the 2024-25 academic year, according to university data.
Fourth-year US student Alice Goyer told AFP "no one knows" what the development would mean for international students already enrolled.
Meanwhile, Harvard University sued the Trump administration on Friday over President Donald Trump's decision to revoke the Ivy League school's ability to enroll international students.
In a complaint filed in Boston federal court, Harvard called the revocation a "blatant violation" of the U.S. Constitution and other federal laws, and had an "immediate and devastating effect" on the university and more than 7,000 visa holders.
"With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission," Harvard said.
"It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government's demands to control Harvard's governance, curriculum, and the 'ideology' of its faculty and students," the university added.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday ordered the termination of Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, effective with the 2025-2026 academic year.
She accused Harvard of "fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party."
Harvard enrolled nearly 6,800 international students in its current school year, equal to 27% of total enrollment, according to university statistics.