Trump administration blocks Harvard from enrolling foreign students

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students on Thursday, and is forcing current foreign students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status, while also threatening to expand the crackdown to other colleges, opens new tab.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the department to terminate Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification effective for the 2025-2026 school year, the department said in a statement, reports reuters.

Noem accused the university of "fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party."

Harvard said the move by the Trump administration - which affects thousands of students - was illegal and amounted to retaliation.

The decision marked a significant escalation of the Trump administration's campaign against the elite Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has emerged as one of Trump's most prominent institutional targets.

The move came after Harvard refused to provide information that Noem demanded about some foreign student visa holders at Harvard, the department said.