The Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), effective for the 2025-2026 academic year. This forced nearly 6,800 current foreign students to transfer or lose legal status.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Harvard of “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party,” escalating a campaign against the Ivy League institution. Harvard denounced the move as “unlawful” and retaliatory, vowing to challenge it legally.
Noem directed the Department of Homeland Security to terminate Harvard’s SEVP certification, citing the university’s refusal to provide records on foreign student visa holders, including protest activity footage from the past five years.
Harvard enrolled 6,800 international students in 2024-2025, comprising 27.2% of its total enrollment. According to university data, Chinese nationals (1,016) formed the largest group, followed by students from Canada, India, and South Korea. Noem argued that universities benefit from higher tuition payments, calling SEVP participation a “privilege, not a right.”
Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers blasted the Trump administration’s decision to block Harvard University from enrolling international students https://t.co/1uNQeGjebf
— Bloomberg (@business) May 23, 2025Harvard labelled the action a threat to its academic mission and the broader U.S. education system, asserting it complies with federal regulations. The university’s statement emphasised its commitment to combating antisemitism and ensuring a safe campus for Jewish and Israeli students, as outlined in a recent legal complaint.
Broader Context and Trump’s Campaign
The revocation marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s targeting of Harvard, which began with a $3 billion freeze in federal grants and a $60 million grant termination by the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2025, both citing alleged antisemitic harassment. Trump, who took office in January 2025, has criticised Harvard for hiring prominent Democrats and fostering “anti-American” ideologies, part of a broader push to reform U.S. higher education. Noem hinted at expanding the crackdown, telling Fox News that other universities, like Columbia, face similar scrutiny, saying, “This should be a warning to every other university.”
Harvard's legal fight has been supercharged by a Trump administration order barring it from enrolling international students https://t.co/Sh2aL85cno
— Bloomberg (@business) May 23, 2025Congressional Democrats, including Representative Jamie Raskin, condemned the move as an “intolerable attack on Harvard’s independence,” alleging retaliation for the university’s resistance to Trump’s policies. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council called the action punitive, arguing it “needlessly harms thousands of innocent students.”
On May 22, 2025, a federal judge ruled that the administration cannot terminate foreign students’ legal status without proper regulatory procedures, potentially complicating the Harvard ban, though its specific impact remains unclear. Harvard’s lawsuits to restore frozen grants and challenge the SEVP revocation signal a protracted legal battle. The Chinese Embassy has not commented, despite the significant number of Chinese students affected.
The policy aligns with Trump’s immigration crackdown, including efforts to revoke student visas for pro-Palestinian protesters.
With 27.2% of its students international, Harvard faces significant disruption, as do affected students who must transfer or risk deportation. The ban threatens university revenue, as international students often pay higher tuition, and could deter future applicants, impacting U.S. higher education’s global appeal.
