Trump Locks Horns with Harvard in Hot Pursuits Against Liberals

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Trump Administration Bars Harvard from Enrolling International Students, Escalating Clash with Ivy League

By TRH News Desk

NEW DELHI, May 23, 2025 – The Trump administration has revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students. The move affects nearly 6,800 students – 27% of its student body – and marks a significant escalation in its ongoing battle with the Ivy League institution.

The decision, announced on Thursday, requires current international students to transfer to other universities or face deportation. The decision has prompted widespread condemnation from academics, students, and legal experts.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), led by Secretary Kristi Noem, justified the action, stating, “Harvard has created an unsafe campus environment by allowing ‘anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators’ to assault Jewish students on campus.”

The DHS also accused Harvard of “coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party” by hosting members of a Chinese paramilitary group in 2024. “It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments,” Noem said in a statement.

She added on X, “Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.”

The White House echoed this sentiment, with spokesperson Abigail Jackson telling CNN, “Harvard leadership has turned their once-great institution into a hotbed of anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators. They have repeatedly failed to take action to address the widespread problems negatively impacting American students and now must face the consequences.”

Harvard called the move “unlawful” and “retaliatory,” vowing to fight for its international students. “We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University – and this nation – immeasurably,” the university said in a statement. “This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”

The New York Times reported that the decision followed a contentious back-and-forth over a DHS request for detailed records on international students involved in “illegal” or “dangerous” activities, which Harvard deemed overly broad and unconstitutional. The outlet noted that the move “intensifies the administration’s attempt to upend the culture of higher education” by targeting a key revenue source for universities.

CNN described the action as leaving thousands of students “in limbo,” with Harvard’s spring semester ending May 26, 2025, complicating transfers. “People who dreamed of coming to the United States to study… are now having their lives wrecked,” said Larry Summers, Harvard President Emeritus and former Treasury Secretary, who criticized the lack of due process.

The Guardian quoted Harvard professor Pippa Norris, who said, “Trump is basically cutting off international knowledge to American students, he is reducing soft power and therefore weakening America.” Norris added that the ban would disrupt her teaching, as 90% of her students are international.

Trump’s Confrontations with American Universities

The Trump administration’s clash with Harvard is part of a broader campaign targeting elite U.S. universities, particularly over their handling of pro-Palestinian protests and alleged antisemitism. Since taking office in January 2025, President Trump has accused institutions like Harvard and Columbia of fostering “anti-American” and “radical left” ideologies, focusing on campuses with significant protest activity following the Israel-Hamas conflict, which intensified in October 2023.

In March 2025, Columbia University faced $400 million in federal funding cuts for failing to address antisemitism, leading to concessions like replacing department heads and reviewing admissions processes. Harvard, however, became the first major institution to openly defy Trump’s demands, which included eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, banning protest masks, and subjecting admissions to federal audits for “viewpoint diversity.”

On April 11, 2025, the Trump administration sent Harvard a letter demanding changes to hiring, admissions, and curriculum, including ideological tests for international students.

Harvard President Alan Garber rejected these as unconstitutional, prompting a $2.2 billion federal funding freeze and threats to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status. A subsequent DHS letter on April 16 demanded disciplinary records of international students involved in protests, citing “illegal and violent activities.”

Harvard’s partial compliance – sharing some data by April 30 – did not satisfy the administration, leading to Thursday’s SEVIS revocation.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Harvard’s defiance, backed by a unanimous Cambridge city council resolution, has inspired other universities. Columbia’s acting president Claire Shipman and Stanford’s president Jonathan Levin expressed solidarity, rejecting government overreach into academic freedom.

The revocation of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) certification prevents it from sponsoring F-1 and J-1 visas, forcing current students to transfer or face deportation. A federal judge in Oakland issued a temporary injunction on May 22, 2025, barring the administration from terminating students’ legal status pending a lawsuit, but the broader ban remains in effect.

Harvard’s faculty, including economics professor Jason Furman, warned that the ban could “debilitate the academic power of American academia,” as international students drive innovation and research. The university is preparing a second lawsuit, signaling a protracted legal battle.

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