Posted on 06/04/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a proclamation suspending the entry of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard University, citing concerns for national security.
The measure specifically targets individuals seeking to enter the United States as nonimmigrants under F, M, or J visas for new Harvard students.
The proclamation directs the Secretary of State to consider revoking existing F, M, or J visas for current Harvard students who meet the criteria outlined in the directive. This action does not extend to foreign nationals attending other U.S. universities through the Student Exchange Visa Program (SEVP), and exemptions may be made for individuals whose entry is deemed to be in the national interest.
The White House statement accompanying the proclamation outlined a series of concerns regarding Harvard University, characterizing the institution as having "a demonstrated history of concerning foreign ties and radicalism."
According to the proclamation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has "long warned that foreign adversaries take advantage of easy access to American higher education to steal information, exploit research and development, and spread false information." The administration asserts that Harvard has experienced "a drastic rise in crime in recent years, while failing to discipline at least some categories of conduct violations on campus."
The proclamation also alleges that "Harvard has failed to provide sufficient information to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about foreign students’ known illegal or dangerous activities, reporting deficient data on only three students." This has led the administration to conclude that "Harvard is either not fully reporting its disciplinary records for foreign students or is not seriously policing its foreign students."
Additional concerns cited include Harvard's alleged failure to "adequately address violent antisemitic incidents on campus, with many of these agitators found to be foreign students." The proclamation also criticized Harvard's continued prioritization of "diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in its admissions, denying hardworking Americans equal opportunities by favoring certain groups, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against its race-based practices."
These concerns have led the Federal government to conclude that "Harvard University is no longer a trustworthy steward of international student and exchange visitor programs."
President Trump addressed the rationale behind the proclamation, stating, "The students? Well, we want to have great students here. We just don’t want students that are causing trouble. We want to have students. I want to have foreign students."
He further elaborated, "We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools, they can’t get in because we have foreign students there. But I want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country."
The President also indicated that his administration is awaiting further information from the university, remarking, "We are still waiting for the Foreign Student Lists from Harvard so that we can determine, after a ridiculous expenditure of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, how many radicalized lunatics, troublemakers all, should not be let back into our Country. Harvard is very slow in the presentation of these documents, and probably for good reason!"
Harvard has come under scrutiny over its failure to address antisemitism on its campus. These acts of antisemitism have increased since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the ensuingwar in Gaza.
Last month, the Trump administration moved to revoke Harvard's certification to enroll foreign students, a move swiftly countered by a judge who placed an initial temporary block hours later. International students constitute approximately one-fourth of Harvard's student body. The block was extended by the judge late last week.
Previously, the Trump administration officially revoked $2.2 billion in federal funding previously allocated to Harvard University, citing the institution's failure to address antisemitism and alleged racial discrimination on campus.
In addition to the funding cuts, Trump has also advocated for revoking the university's tax-exempt status.