Breaking: Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling international students
- In an escalation of an ongoing dispute between the US administration and Harvard University, the Department of Homeland Security moved on 22 May 2025 to suspend the university’s ability to enrol foreign students
- The university has been given 72 hours to comply with a sweeping records request from DHS in order to regain its certification for next year
- Students are advised in the meantime to transfer to another university in order not to lose their legal status in the United States
The US government has suspended Harvard University's ability to enrol foreign students, effective immediately. The move comes after weeks of back and forth between university and government officials around a sweeping records request filed with Harvard as part of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigation.
Harvard has so far refused to comply with the request and today's revocation of the university's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification represents a clear escalation of the dispute. Without that SEVP certification, the university cannot enrol international students. A 22 May 2025 DHS press release states plainly that, "This means Harvard can no longer enrol foreign students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status."
“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “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. Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.”
In her 22 May letter to the university, Secretary Noem added, "The revocation of your Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification means that Harvard is prohibited from having any aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status for the 2025-2026 academic school year. This decertification also means that existing aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status must transfer to another university in order to maintain their nonimmigrant status."
This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 22, 2025
It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments… pic.twitter.com/12hJWd1J86
"Consequences must follow to send a clear signal to Harvard and all universities that want to enjoy the privilege of enrolling foreign students, that the Trump Administration will enforce the law and root out the evils of anti-Americanism and antisemitism in society and campuses," continued the Secretary. "If Harvard would like the opportunity of regaining Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification before the upcoming academic school year, you must provide all of the information requested…within 72 hours."
Harvard enrolled about 6,800 international students in the current academic year, which represents about 27% of the university's total enrolment. The latest available analysis from NAFSA estimates that international students in US higher education contributed US$43.8 billion in economic impact and supported nearly 380,000 jobs in the United States during the 2023/24 academic year.
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