Harvard University has been stripped of its ability to enrol foreign students by the Trump administration, a move set to force thousands of international learners – including hundreds from the UK – to transfer or leave the US.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that Harvard would be removed from the Student and Exchange Visitor Programme over claims it fostered an unsafe environment by permitting “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” on campus.
Noem also accused the institution of “coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party” and said the decision followed Harvard’s “failure to adhere to US law”.
This unprecedented action affects roughly 6,800 foreign students from over 100 countries currently enrolled at the Ivy League university, which is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. British students will be among those impacted.
Harvard admitted 236 students from the UK in 2022, and UK nationals form the largest single foreign alumni group with more than 7,100 graduates.
A spokesperson for Harvard condemned the decision as “unlawful”, stressing the institution’s commitment to welcoming international scholars and students from over 140 nations who “immeasurably enrich both the university and the United States”.
The Department of Homeland Security stated bluntly: “Harvard can no longer enrol foreign students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status.”
Ms Noem further warned: “It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enrol foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.”
This is the latest development in a series of confrontations between former President Donald Trump and Harvard. Earlier this year, Trump threatened to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status.
Harvard is also engaged in a legal dispute with the federal government over the freezing of £1.7 billion in federal grants.
