Key points
- Trump admin cites foreign ties, crime and antisemitic incidents as reason for visa ban
- Harvard will continue to protect its international students: Harvard
- Suspension can be extended beyond six months
ISLAMABAD: United States (US) President Donald Trump on Wednesday suspended for an initial six months the entry into the United States of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programmes at Harvard University, amid an escalating dispute with the Ivy League school.
Donald Trump has threatened to strip Columbia of its academic accreditation
Harvard, in a statement, called Trump’s proclamation “yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights.”
“Harvard will continue to protect its international students,” it added.
The suspension can be extended beyond six months, according to Reuters.
Trump is seeking to bring the universities to heel with claims their international students pose a national security threat, and that they ignored anti-Semitism on campus, and perpetuate liberal bias.
“Suspended and limited”
A proclamation issued by the White House late Wednesday declared that the entrance of international students to begin a course at Harvard would be “suspended and limited” for six months, and that existing overseas enrollees could have their visas terminated.
“Harvard’s conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers,” said the order.
“I’m trembling. This is outrageous,” Karl Molden, a Harvard government and classics student from Austria, told AFP.
“He is abusing his executive power to harm Harvard as much as he can.”
“My god!” said another international student at Harvard, who declined to be named for fear of retribution, on learning of the executive order. “This is such a disgrace.”
“Retaliatory”
The announcement came after the Trump administration’s earlier efforts to terminate Harvard’s right to enroll and host foreign students were stalled by a judge.
The government already cut around $3.2 billion of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts institution from any future federal funding.
“Viewpoint diversity”
Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump’s campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and “viewpoint diversity.”
Trump has also singled out international students at Harvard, who in the 2024-2025 academic year accounted for 27 per cent of total enrollment, and a major source of income.
“This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights,” a university spokesman said.
“Harvard will continue to protect its international students.”
The latest sweeping action against Harvard came as Trump’s education secretary threatened Wednesday to strip Columbia University of its accreditation.
The Republican has targeted the New York Ivy League institution for allegedly ignoring harassment of Jewish students, throwing all of its federal funding into doubt.
