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President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will deny visas to international students seeking to attend Harvard University, in what legal experts and Harvard officials are calling an unprecedented escalation in his ongoing conflict with the Ivy League institution.
In a presidential proclamation issued alongside a broader travel ban affecting 19 countries, Trump accused Harvard of failing to cooperate with federal authorities by not providing sufficient data on potential misconduct by its foreign students. The move comes just weeks after a federal judge blocked a prior attempt by the administration to strip Harvard of its certification to enroll international students.
“Harvard provided data on misconduct by only three students, and the data it provided was so deficient that the DHS could not evaluate whether it should take further actions,” Trump said, referencing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The order specifically bars foreign nationals who intend to enroll at Harvard under F, M, or J visas — the standard categories for academic and exchange visitors — and directs the State Department to review existing visa holdersaffiliated with the university for potential revocation.
The proclamation has prompted swift condemnation from Harvard and raised alarm across higher education institutions nationwide.
“This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights,” a Harvard spokesperson said Wednesday.
“We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action,” added Harvard President Alan M. Garber. “It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams.”
The administration’s tensions with Harvard have been building for months, particularly in response to the university’s handling of campus protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Trump officials have accused Harvard of tolerating antisemitism, citing demonstrations that criticized Israel’s military response in Gaza. In April, the White House demanded Harvard audit student viewpoints — a demand the university rejected.
The Department of Education subsequently announced a freeze on over $2 billion in federal grants to the university, further intensifying the standoff.
Legal scholars say the new visa ban is likely to face immediate court challenges, as it may violate both constitutional protections and immigration law.
“This action reeks of retaliation and viewpoint discrimination,” said Erika Lopez, an immigration law professor at Georgetown University. “Denying students the right to study at a specific university on political grounds raises major constitutional red flags.”
This is not the first time Trump has targeted student visas. During his first term, the administration attempted to bar foreign students from remaining in the U.S. if their classes went fully online during the COVID-19 pandemic — a policy reversed after public outcry and legal threats from Harvard and MIT.
Now, Harvard’s international community once again finds itself in limbo, uncertain about their academic futures.
“It’s terrifying,” said Aisha Rahman, a graduate student from Bangladesh. “We came here to learn, not to become political pawns.”
With Trump’s latest actions, immigration, higher education, and freedom of expression are once again at the center of a high-stakes legal and political battle, one that may have far-reaching implications for universities and international students across the country.
