United States President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students has jeopardised the future of those currently studying at the university and crushed the dreams of several students from around the world who want to study there.
Harvard is one of the most prestigious universities across the globe, enrolling thousands of international students every year. According to an Associated Press report, Harvard enrols about 7,000 international students, most of them in graduate programmes.
A federal judge has put the decision on hold for now.
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The decision was announced by the US’ Department of Homeland Security which cited the university’s failure to adhere to the requests demanding records about its foreign students, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The department has also accused Harvard of making the campus “unsafe” for jews and promoting pro-Hamas sympathies amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.
After announcing the decision, the international students currently enrolled with Harvard were asked to seek admissions or transfers to other universities or they may be asked to go back to their countries.
Can US government control who Harvard University enrols?
The United States government has full authority to decide who enters its country, and its Department of Homeland Security is responsible for overseeing what universities or colleges can enrol foreign students under the Student Exchange and Visitor Program. The colleges which are a part of the program can issue documents to their international students to seek a visa to come study in the US. On Thursday last week, May 22, the DHS said it would take away Harvard’s ability to do so.
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What about the international students currently enrolled at Harvard?
According to the letter issued by Noem, the decision would come into effect from the 2025-2026 school year. This means that foreign students who have already completed their degrees this semester will be able to graduate, however, the same can’t be said for others for now.
For those who have not completed their degrees yet, they might need to seek transfer to other colleges or universities if the court decides to uphold DHS’ decision or they will not be allowed to be in the US legally.
Across Harvard University, the foreign students make up for around 26% of the total students, according to an AP report. The university hosts over 7,000 people from outside the US, including foreign students and those visiting on exchange programs.
Some programs at the university have a significantly higher percentage of foreign students than others, such as the Harvard Kennedy School where 49% are from outside the country and in the law school, as many as 94% students pursuing master’s program in comparative law are foreigners, the report added.
The students who have secured admission to the prestigious university but have not yet enrolled may not be able to do so in upcoming fall if the court doesn’t rule in Harvard’s favour.
Harvard had filed a lawsuit challenging DHS’ decision on May 23 following which it got some relief from a federal judge in Boston who put a stay on the order. Till the matter is under hearing, the currency enrolled students can stay at the university without revocation of their legal status and the university can also keep enrolling new students.
With inputs from AP.
