US restricts Harvard University from enrolling foreign students

The Donald Trump-led United States government has restricted Harvard University from enrolling international students.

Kristi Noem, secretary of the department of homeland security, announced the decision in a statement issued on Thursday via X.

Noem cited the university’s failure to stem “violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus” as reasons for the “harsh penalty”.

“This decertification also means that existing aliens on F- or J- non-immigrant status must transfer to another university in order to maintain their non-immigrant status,” the statement reads.

Harvard University has been embroiled in a funding row with the Trump administration, resulting from the school’s refusal to comply with the president’s demands.

Trump had asked that the university audit professors for plagiarism and report international students accused of misconduct no matter the degree.

Harvard also refused to eliminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes.

As part of the consequences, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard last month.

Early this month, the education department threatened that Harvard would no longer receive research grants.

“Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country,” Noem said after Thursday’s decision was made public.

Harvard called the revocation “unlawful”.

“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.

“We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community,” 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.”

Over the past decade, Harvard has continued to record an increase in the number of international students.

For the 2024/2025 academic year, foreign students accounted for 27.2 percent of the students’ population.