Spanish
New York.- The Donald Trump administration has banned Harvard University from enrolling foreign students going forward, in a serious escalation of the conflict that has pitted the president against the educational institution for several months over ideological issues and that has made Harvard the spearhead of anti-Trumpism in the United States.
The decision has been communicated in a letter sent this Thursday to Harvard and signed by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, which reads: "I am writing to notify you that, effective immediately, the Harvard University program for Foreign Students and Visitors has been revoked."
You may be interested in: Trump signs order to penalize cities that do not cooperate with immigration agents
"This means that Harvard can no longer enroll foreign students and that current foreign students must transfer or they will lose their legal status," notes a statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The university acknowledged the damage that this measure may cause: "This retaliatory action threatens to seriously harm the Harvard community and the country, as well as undermine our academic and research mission," Jason Newton, director of media relations for the institution, told The New York Times.
However, it was said "committed to maintaining our ability to host international students and academics, who come from more than 140 countries and immeasurably enrich the university and the nation".
The immediate scope of the "relocation" for students currently enrolled in a degree program is unclear. According to the information provided by the university itself, there are 6,793 foreign students enrolled in this current course, which is equivalent to 27.2% of the student body.
Harvard tuition is $59,320 for the school year beginning at the end of 2025, and student costs can amount to almost $87,000 if accommodation and food are included, according to the same newspaper. This gives an idea of the economic blow that the ban on enrolling foreigners can mean for Harvard.
Antisemitism and Penetration of the Chinese Communist Party
To the usual accusations of tolerating or promoting antisemitism on its campuses, today the Trump Administration introduced a new element, that of alleged Chinese interference: "This Administration - the DHS statement continues - considers Harvard responsible for fostering violence and antisemitism, and for coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus."
As it has reasoned with the granting or revocation of visas, the DHS has qualified the enrollment of foreigners as "a privilege".
"It is a privilege, not a right, that universities enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to increase their multimillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had many opportunities to do the right thing. It refused," notes Noem.
This breakdown of what is "correct" is defined as such by the DHS: it says that the elitist university "has created an unsafe environment on campus by allowing anti-American and pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault people, including many Jewish students".
The accusations of antisemitism -and of alleged support for Hamas- are the main argument of the DHS letter, but it also includes the policies of inclusivity and affirmative action for minorities, which the DHS calls "racist" (in probable allusion to a bias against the white majority).
"Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions in the country," Noem warns in that document.
Harvard has been, by far, the university that has most vehemently opposed the Trump Administration's control measures on campuses, in the hiring of professors, in the offering of courses, and in the design of programs.
But that opposition has literally come at a very high price for Harvard: just in May alone, the Government has first withdrawn 2.2 billion in federal subsidies, and a week later another 450 million.
