Trump moves to block US entry for foreign students planning to study at
Harvard University
[June 05, 2025]
By COLLIN BINKLEY
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is moving to block nearly all
foreign students from entering the country to attend Harvard University,
his latest attempt to choke the Ivy League school from an international
pipeline that accounts for a quarter of the student body.
In an executive order signed Wednesday, Trump declared that it would
jeopardize national security to allow Harvard to continue hosting
foreign students on its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“I have determined that the entry of the class of foreign nationals
described above is detrimental to the interests of the United States
because, in my judgment, Harvard’s conduct has rendered it an unsuitable
destination for foreign students and researchers,” Trump wrote in the
order.
It’s a further escalation in the White House’s fight with the nation’s
oldest and wealthiest university. A federal court in Boston blocked the
Department of Homeland Security from barring international students at
Harvard last week. Trump’s order invokes a different legal authority.
Trump invoked a broad federal law that gives the president authority to
block foreigners whose entry would be “detrimental to the interests of
the United States.” On Wednesday, he cited the same authority when
announcing that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting
the U.S. and those from seven others would face restrictions. Trump’s
Harvard order cites several other laws, too, including one barring
foreigners associated with terrorist organizations.
In a statement Wednesday night, Harvard said it will “continue to
protect its international students.”
“This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the
Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights,”
university officials said.
It stems from Harvard’s refusal to submit to a series of demands made by
the federal government. It has escalated recently after the Department
of Homeland Security said Harvard refused to provide records related to
misconduct by foreign students.
Harvard says it has complied with the request, but the government said
the school's response was insufficient.
The dispute has been building for months after the Trump administration
demanded a series of policy and governance changes at Harvard, calling
it a hotbed of liberalism and accusing it of tolerating anti-Jewish
harassment. Harvard defied the demands, saying they encroached on the
university’s autonomy and represented a threat to the freedom of all
U.S. universities.
Trump officials have repeatedly raised the stakes and sought new fronts
to pressure Harvard, cutting more than $2.6 billion in research grants
and moving to end all federal contracts with the university. The latest
threat has targeted Harvard’s roughly 7,000 international students, who
account for half the enrollment at some Harvard graduate schools.
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“Admission to the United States to study at an ‘elite’ American
university is a privilege, not a right,” Attorney General Pam Bondi
said in a post on X. “This Department of Justice will vigorously
defend the President’s proclamation suspending the entry of new
foreign students at Harvard University based on national security
concerns.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called the measure ridiculous and
said it has nothing to do with national security.
“It’s a thinly veiled revenge ploy in Trump’s personal feud with
Harvard, and continued authoritarian overreach against free speech,”
Jayapal said on the social media site X.
The order applies to all students attempting to enter the United
States to attend Harvard after the date of the executive order. It
provides a loophole to allow students whose entry would “benefit the
national interest,” as determined by federal officials.
Trump’s order alleges that Harvard provided data on misconduct by
only three students in response to the Homeland Security request,
and it lacked the detail to gauge if federal action was needed.
Trump concluded that Harvard is either “not fully reporting its
disciplinary records for foreign students or is not seriously
policing its foreign students.”
“These actions and failures directly undermine the Federal
Government’s ability to ensure that foreign nationals admitted on
student or exchange visitor visas remain in compliance with Federal
law,” the order said.
For foreign students already at Harvard, Secretary of State Marco
Rubio will determine if visas should be revoked, Trump wrote.
The order is scheduled to last six months. Within 90 days, the
administration will determine if it should be renewed, the order
said.
A State Department cable sent last week to U.S. embassies and
consulates said federal officials will begin reviewing the social
media accounts of visa applicants who plan to attend, work at or
visit Harvard University for any signs of antisemitism.
In a court filing last week, Harvard officials said the Trump
administration’s efforts to stop Harvard from enrolling
international students have created an environment of “profound
fear, concern, and confusion.” Countless international students have
asked about transferring from the university, Harvard immigration
services director Maureen Martin said in the filing.
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Associated Press writer Cheyanne Mumphrey in Phoenix contributed to
this report.
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