Harvard, which has sued the government over a separate raft of punitive measures, fired back, calling the move “unlawful.”
“We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars,” it said in a statement, adding that it was working to offer students guidance and support.
“This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”
Last month, Trump threatened to stop Harvard from enrolling foreign students if it did not agree to government demands that would put the private institution under outside political supervision.
“As I explained to you in my April letter, it is a privilege to enrol foreign students,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote.
“All universities must comply with Department of Homeland Security requirements, including reporting requirements under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program regulations, to maintain this privilege,” she said.
HARVARD REFUGEE
The number of Chinese international students in the United States has dropped to about 277,000 in 2024 from a high of around 370,000 in 2019, driven partly by growing tension between the world’s two biggest economies and heightened US government scrutiny of some Chinese students.
“Our teachers have sent us an email saying the school is actively working hard on a response within the next 72 hours and aims to negotiate with the government,” said Teresa, a Chinese postgraduate student at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Her post on Friday on the Instagram-like Xiaohongshu platform was titled “Harvard refugee”.
Zhang Kaiqi, a master’s student in public health, had packed his luggage and souvenirs ready for a Friday flight back to China. But upon hearing the news, he urgently cancelled the expensive flight, losing his internship at a us NGO in China.
“I was sad and irritated. For a moment, I thought it was fake news,” the 21-year-old said.
As others digested Thursday’s order, two Chinese students said they were added to WhatsApp groups in which panicked foreign students were frantically sharing legal advice on their immigration status.
One provided a transcript from such a chat group that showed a lawyer advising students not to leave the country or use domestic air travel, and wait for official announcements from the school.
