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BOSTON, Massachusetts: U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has taken away Harvard University’s right to enroll international students, beginning with the 2025–2026 academic year.

This means Harvard will no longer be allowed to admit foreign students, and those already enrolled must transfer to another school or risk losing their legal status in the U.S. The administration also hinted that other universities could face similar actions.

This move is part of a broader immigration crackdown under President Trump, who has been especially critical of elite institutions like Harvard.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the decision, accusing Harvard of encouraging violence, antisemitism, and cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party. She also demanded that Harvard hand over detailed records on foreign students, including any videos or audio of their protest activity from the past five years.

Harvard strongly rejected the accusations and called the administration’s actions illegal and retaliatory. The university said it is fully committed to supporting its international students and argued that this decision would seriously harm the Harvard community, its mission, and the country.

The decision affects thousands of students. Harvard had nearly 6,800 international students enrolled in the 2024–2025 school year—about 27 percent of its total student body. The largest group came from China, followed by students from Canada, India, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to the news.

Secretary Noem stated, “It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their high tuition fees.” She gave Harvard 72 hours to turn over a list of documents and recordings related to international students’ protest activities if the university wanted to regain its certification.

Harvard responded with a strong statement, saying the government’s actions are unjust and politically motivated and undermine the university’s academic and research mission. Harvard is also facing the loss of federal funding: President Trump recently froze US$3 billion in federal grants to the university. Harvard has filed a lawsuit to challenge that decision.

Democratic lawmakers have sharply criticized Harvard’s certification revocation. Representative Jamie Raskin called it “an intolerable attack on Harvard’s independence and academic freedom” and said the move was clearly retaliation for the university’s past resistance to Trump’s demands.

In a separate legal case, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration cannot end the legal status of foreign students nationwide without following official legal procedures. It’s not yet clear how this ruling might affect the situation at Harvard.

During an interview on Fox News, Secretary Noem confirmed that the administration is considering similar action against other universities, including Columbia University in New York. “Absolutely, we are,” she said. “This should be a warning to every other university to get your act together.”

President Trump has made overhauling immigration and education key goals of his administration. He has claimed that many private universities promote anti-American and leftist ideologies, and he has criticized schools like Harvard for hiring well-known Democrats. His administration has tried to revoke student visas and green cards of international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests.

This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also ended an additional $60 million in federal grants to Harvard, saying the university had not done enough to stop antisemitic harassment and discrimination on campus. In a legal filing, Harvard said it is working to combat antisemitism and to create a safe environment for Jewish and Israeli students.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the American Immigration Council, a pro-immigration advocacy group, said the action against Harvard’s student visa program “needlessly punishes thousands of innocent students.”

“None of them have done anything wrong, they’re just collateral damage to Trump,” he said on the social media site Bluesky.