President Donald Trump has demanded the names of foreign students at Harvard after a federal judge blocked his administration’s move to cut off the university’s enrollment of foreign students.
“Why isn’t Harvard saying that almost 31% of their students are from FOREIGN LANDS, and yet those countries, some not at all friendly to the United States, pay NOTHING toward their student’s education, nor do they ever intend to,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
“We want to know who those foreign students are, a reasonable request since we give Harvard BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but Harvard isn’t exactly forthcoming. We want those names and countries.”
Newsweek has contacted the White House and Harvard for comment via emails sent outside regular business hours.
Why It Matters
The Department of Homeland Security announced Harvard’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program had been revoked, accusing Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to harass and assault Jewish students on campus and of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party. The department said existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status.
But a judge suspended the move after the university sued “to stop the government’s arbitrary, capricious, unlawful, and unconstitutional action.”
It was the latest escalation in the administration’s fight with the Ivy League university since it openly defied demands to limit pro-Palestinian activism and end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. The administration has frozen or canceled federal grants and contracts for Harvard worth almost $3 billion in recent months, and Trump is also seeking to strip the school of its tax-exempt status. The university filed a separate lawsuit to block the cuts in April.
What To Know
Harvard’s lawsuit said the government’s action would have an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.”
Harvard enrolled 6,793 international students in the 2024-25 school year—accounting for 27.2 percent of total enrollment, according to data posted on the university’s website.
When including scholars, the international population at Harvard is more than 10,000. The Harvard International Office lists the150 countries that international students and scholars hail from, the most coming from China, India and Canada.
The administration’s action came after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on April 16 demanded that Harvard provide information on what she called the “illegal and violent” activities of the university’s foreign student visa holders, warning the university would lose its ability to enroll international students if the information was not provided.
Noem said in a letter to Harvard on Thursday that its response was “insufficient.” She said Harvard can regain its ability to host foreign students if it produces records on foreign students within 72 hours. Her updated request demands all records, including “audio or video footage, regarding illegal activity whether on or off campus, by a nonimmigrant student enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years.”
Harvard said in the lawsuit filed on Friday that it provided “thousands of data points concerning its entire F-1 student population” in response to Noem’s demand and that the Department of Homeland Security did not explain why the university’s response was not sufficient “let alone identity any actual noncompliance with the governing regulations or follow any of the detailed processes required under the regulations prior to revoking a school’s certification.”
The university said that “countless academic programs, research laboratories, clinics and courses supported by Harvard’s international students have been thrown into disarray” days before graduation and that most of Harvard’s international students, as well as their dependents, “will have little choice but to secure transfer to another school or risk being rendered without lawful status in the United States.”
What People Are Saying
Trump also referenced the university’s large endowment in his Truth Social post, writing: “Harvard has $52,000,000, use it, and stop asking for the Federal Government to continue GRANTING money to you!”
Harvard president Alan Garber said in a message to the Harvard community after the judge’s ruling: “This is a critical step to protect the rights and opportunities of our international students and scholars, who are vital to the University’s mission and community. Many among us are likely to have additional concerns and questions. Important updates and guidance will continue to be provided by the Harvard International Office as they become available.”
Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton said in a statement to Newsweek earlier on Friday: “The government’s action is 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.”
Newton added: “This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”
Stephen Yale-Loehr, a retired professor of immigration law at Cornell University, previously told Newsweek: “I think Harvard will win its lawsuit, on both procedural and substantive grounds. Procedurally, the immigration regulations set forth specific procedures to revoke a school’s approval to enroll international students. The government can’t just issue a press release or letter announcing the revocation.”
What’s Next
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs granted Harvard’s motion for a temporary restraining order on Friday, putting the administration’s action against Harvard on hold.
Burroughs has scheduled a status hearing on May 27 and another hearing on May 29 on whether to issue a preliminary injunction.
Meanwhile, Harvard has set up a Frequently Asked Questions webpage to provide information and advice about the situation.
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