Latest news with #RickFriedman
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
What Trump's Harvard Visa Restriction Means for International Students
University banners hang outside Widener Library during Harvard's commencement, in Cambridge, Mass., May 29, 2025. Credit - Rick Friedman—AFP/Getty Images President Donald Trump has escalated his standoff with Harvard University, seeking another path to prevent international students from attending the school after a judge blocked an attempt to revoke Harvard's ability to enroll international students. 'I have determined that the entry of the class of foreign nationals described above is detrimental to the interests of the United States because, in my judgment, Harvard's conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers,' Trump said Wednesday, the same day he issued a 'travel ban' restricting nationals from 19 countries on entering the U.S., in a proclamation that seeks to limit foreigners' ability to travel to the U.S. to study at Harvard. 'This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights,' the university said in a statement. 'Harvard will continue to take steps to protect the rights of our international students and scholars, members of our community who are vital to the University's academic mission and community—and whose presence here benefits our country immeasurably,' it said in a previous statement. The university has not responded to queries from TIME about how exactly it plans to respond to the proclamation. The proclamation comes days after the State Department reportedly instructed embassies and consulates to increase vetting of visa applicants looking to travel to Harvard for any purpose—with the word 'any' underlined and bolded. Last week, the State Department paused the scheduling of new student visa interviews at embassies across the world to look into intensifying the scrutiny of applicants' social media accounts, citing concerns about antisemitism and terrorism. Harvard has also faced the threat of federal funding cuts and the rescinding of its tax-exempt status. The Cambridge, Mass.-based university is one of several elite higher education institutions in the U.S. that have come under attack by the Trump Administration. Here's what to know. The proclamation suspends the entry of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard, effective immediately. After 90 days, it will be reassessed for extension; otherwise, it will expire in six months. The proclamation applies to those who attempt to enter the country to attend Harvard through the Student Exchange Visa Program. It does not apply to those attending other universities through SEVP. It also directs Secretary of State Marco Rubio to 'consider' on a case-by-case basis whether foreign nationals who attend Harvard and are already in the U.S. under F, M, or J visas should have their visas revoked. The order allows for exceptions to be made for those 'whose entry would be in the national interest,' as determined by Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, or their respective designees. Read More: Harvard's International Students Left in Limbo Amid Legal Battle With Trump Administration Harvard currently has nearly 7,000 international students, representing more than a quarter of its enrollees. Several universities across the globe have already offered to accept impacted students. If international students are forced to transfer, Harvard would suffer financially, as many international students pay full tuition and other associated costs of attendance, which can be as high as about $87,000 per year for undergraduates to $102,000 per year for some graduate students. The latest proclamation comes as Trump's second-term Administration has already sought to cancel thousands of international students' visas across the country, before abruptly reversing course. Recently, the Administration has also targeted students from China, who account for nearly a quarter of all international students in the U.S., citing national security concerns. According to the latest proclamation, the government has concluded 'Harvard University is no longer a trustworthy steward of international student and exchange visitor programs.' The proclamation points to concerns about crime; insufficient cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security; foreign entanglements, including with China; and alleged civil rights violations. 'Crime rates at Harvard University—including violent crime rates—have drastically risen in recent years,' the proclamation asserts, adding that the university 'has failed to discipline at least some categories of conduct violations on campus.' It also alleges that Harvard 'has refused the recent requests of the DHS for information about foreign students' 'known illegal activity,' 'known dangerous and violent activity,' 'known threats to other students or university personnel,' 'known deprivation of rights of other classmates or university personnel,' and whether those activities 'occurred on campus,' and other related data.' It concluded: 'Harvard's actions show that it either is not fully reporting its disciplinary records for foreign students or is not seriously policing its foreign students.' The proclamation also cites student newspaper the Harvard Crimson, which reported earlier this year that the university has received over $150 million in funding from foreign governments, more than any of its Ivy League peers. A university spokesperson told the Crimson that donations are used to fund financial aid as well as educational and operational expenses. Trump's latest proclamation also cited a May letter by the Republican-led House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party that alleged 'Harvard repeatedly hosted and trained members of a CCP paramilitary organization.' Lastly, the proclamation claimed that Harvard 'continues to flout the civil rights of its students and faculty.' It referred to the 2023 Supreme Court case Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, in which admissions policies that consider race as a factor were ruled unconstitutional, to suggest that the university engages in 'blatant' 'discrimination against disfavored races.' Harvard, the proclamation alleged, continues to 'deny hardworking Americans equal opportunities,' while it 'admits students from non-egalitarian nations, including nations that seek the destruction of the United States and its allies, or the extermination of entire peoples.' Contact us at letters@
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Cracks Down on Chinese International Students: What to Know
People hold up signs during the Harvard Students for Freedom rally in support of international students at the Harvard University campus in Boston, Mass., on May 27, 2025. Credit - Rick Friedman—AFP/Getty Images 'Economists don't like tariffs not only because of the tariff itself but because of the uncertainty it creates,' Fangzhou Jiang, a Chinese student at Harvard Kennedy School and co-founder of higher education consulting firm Crimson Education, tells TIME. 'It's the same situation.' The uncertainty Jiang is dealing with is his education: while his student visa has so far not been affected, the changing situation around Harvard's enrollment authorization and now new restrictions on Chinese students have made it difficult to navigate decisions around things like housing for the next academic year. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday the U.S. would start 'aggressively' revoking Chinese student visas and 'enhance scrutiny' of applications from mainland China and Hong Kong. Rubio gave sparse details on what exactly the criteria would be but said it would include 'those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.' China on Thursday condemned the decision, calling it 'discriminatory.' 'The U.S. decision … seriously hurts the lawful rights and interests of international students from China, and disrupts people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. China firmly opposes it and has protested to the U.S. over the decision,' said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning. 'This politically motivated and discriminatory move exposes the U.S. hypocrisy over freedom and openness. It will further damage the image and reputation of the U.S. itself.' The U.S. move comes at a time when the Trump Administration has imposed restrictions on the sales of chip design software and some jet engine parts to China, and soon after it warned that the sale of Huawei semiconductors 'anywhere in the world' would violate U.S. export controls—prompting China to threaten legal action. It's also come amid the Administration's war on U.S. colleges, which has included slashing federal funding for a number of universities and an attempt to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students over the school's alleged noncompliance with a list of demands. The decision was celebrated by some. Ashley Moody, a Republican Senator from Florida, posted on X, 'the U.S. is no longer in the business of importing espionage.' Moody introduced a bill in March to ban all Chinese students from the U.S. Others, however, condemned the move. 'The wholesale revocation of student visas based on national origin—and without an investigation—is xenophobic and wrong,' the Democratic-led Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus posted on X. 'Turning these students away—many of whom simply wish to learn in a free and democratic society—is not just shortsighted but a betrayal of our values.' This policy 'doesn't come from nowhere,' says David Weeks, co-founder and chief operating officer of Sunrise International, a consulting firm that advises overseas universities on recruiting Chinese students. 'You have adverse policies tracing back all the way to' President Donald Trump's first term, Weeks says. In 2020, Trump's first-term Administration implemented Proclamation 10043, a restrictive visa policy on Chinese graduate students and researchers with ties to China's 'military-civil' universities. Around 1,000 Chinese scholars had their visas revoked under the policy, which persisted under the Biden Administration. The new restrictions may appear more expansive, but it's 'a lot of chest thumping,' Weeks says, adding that without further details, it doesn't appear to be substantively different from what's been in place for the last five years. 'It's almost domestic political posturing. There's folks in the State Department that may want to seem tough on China, but this idea of limiting visas for students pursuing critical fields is nothing new.' The ambiguity around the new policy and other recent decisions has thrown some Chinese students into a precarious position. The main change is that the criteria has been expanded from alleged military ties to ties to the CCP—but in effect, Weeks says, this will be logistically difficult to implement. A huge number of Chinese citizens have ties to the CCP: the party boasts a membership of around 100 million members, and even if someone isn't a member, it's likely they can be linked through someone they know who is. But people join for reasons beyond direct political involvement. 'To be a civil servant or work in a state enterprise, it's almost obligatory to be in the party,' one member told AFP. 'It's like a diploma. It opens doors.' On top of that, 'essentially every department of every Chinese university has a dual system of governance, where you've got the dean and you have the Communist Party Secretary,' Weeks says. Students may have also joined the Communist Youth League at some point, but it's almost akin to joining the Boy Scouts, he adds. 'The party is omnipresent in many Chinese universities,' Weeks says, but that doesn't mean that students are actively politically involved. 'The effort to try to disentangle and identify who has a party affiliation is practically extremely difficult.' If it's about national security, Jiang says, then it 'might not be the most effective move' to go after anyone with apparent affiliations with the CCP because 'you would have targeted a whole bunch of people that have nothing to do with politics or with national security matters.' 'There's a possibility that students could be vindictively targeted, especially if they're at a university like Harvard that's picked a fight with the Administration,' Weeks says. 'There's certainly a risk that we could have a McCarthyist sort of sweep.' Chinese students account for nearly a quarter—or more than 277,000—of all international students in the U.S., the second highest nationality behind Indian students, according to a 2024 Open Doors report. Many of these students are 'financially pretty self-sustaining,' Weeks says, which can be a significant contribution to university revenue. Chinese students also tend to have strong backgrounds in STEM and are typically highly academically motivated, he adds. They can be 'a critical lifeline for some programs.' 'There's just no market that is as big and as wealthy and as academically prepared as China,' Weeks says. Right now, among Chinese students and their families, there's concern, Weeks says, but not yet panic. U.S. universities have long held a 'tremendous amount of soft power,' he adds. 'In China, there's still a perception that certain other countries are easy, because they don't have as selective of admissions processes as the U.S. does, the degrees are shorter and thus less rigorous.' Many U.S. universities, even non-elite ones, have a kind of brand recognition among Chinese employers, while job opportunities in large American cities are 'unparalleled.' Chinese families have also watched Trump's other policies go on rollercoasters, including imposing heavy tariffs on China and the rest of the world before backing out. 'I think Chinese families are seeing that there's sometimes a lot of noise and bluster, then the final outcome is not ideal,' says Weeks, 'but it's certainly not apocalyptic either.' Still, if punitive policies towards Chinese international students persist, students may turn to alternative destinations, experts say. Read More: These Asian Universities Are Seeking to Attract Harvard Transfers as Trump Targets International Students 'Chinese parents view this environment as one of toxic uncertainty,' Weeks says. 'Chinese parents really gravitate towards the rule of law in a lot of these anglophone countries, so when they see that the rule of law in some places is under threat, that's deeply concerning to them.' The Trump Administration's attitude towards Chinese students is a far cry from the counterpart view of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has for years advocated for more American students to come to China. Xi in 2023 launched an initiative to bring in 50,000 Americans for exchanges and studies over five years. Last year, 16,000 Americans participated. 'There's recognition that when you don't have people-to-people exchanges, you lose an important bulwark against populist rhetoric on both sides,' Weeks says. 'China thinks that we need more, not less, exchange if we have disagreements.' On Wednesday evening, the same day that Rubio announced the decision, Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng touted people-to-people exchanges as foundational to U.S.-China relations. 'It is people-to-people ties that invigorate China-U.S. relations,' he said at his embassy. 'We warmly welcome all American friends to travel in China, shop in China, succeed in China and take part in Chinese modernisation. Come and see the country with your own eyes.' Jiang says when he thinks of his peers, friends, and faculty members, he feels very welcome in the U.S. But these moves by the Administration have spotlighted rhetoric that makes him feel less accepted. Some experts say the Administration's decision will lead to an erosion of trust between the two countries, which could ultimately impact trade negotiations—a key priority for the Trump Administration. 'This policy is an unfair treatment of Chinese citizens, which will intensify diplomatic tensions between China and the United States, undermining the easing atmosphere that had emerged following the Geneva talks,' Sun Chenghao, a fellow at Tsinghua University's Centre for International Security and Strategy, told the South China Morning Post, referencing the agreement between the U.S. and China to temporarily lower tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Thursday Fox News interview that trade talks with China are 'a bit stalled' and pushed for a call between Trump and Xi—who last spoke in January ahead of Trump's inauguration. 'I think China has made it clear that it would like to disentangle security disagreements and trade … from people-to-people exchanges,' Weeks says. Though he doesn't think the Trump Administration's education policies will ultimately undermine trade negotiations, he adds: 'I don't know if Trump or Rubio actually care that much about which student from what province is studying at what U.S. university, but I do think that they see international students unfortunately not as humans, but as bargaining chips.' Contact us at letters@
The Citizen
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Trump crackdown halts student visas as US targets foreign students
Harvard University finds itself at the epicentre of Trump's latest crusade against elite academia, as international student visas are frozen. Harvard students protested on 27 May after the US government said it intends to cancel all remaining financial contracts with the university. Picture: Rick Friedman / AFP The US State Department has ordered the suspension of student visa processing in the latest escalation of a Trump administration crackdown on foreign students criticized Wednesday by China. President Donald Trump's administration is seeking unprecedented control of the nation's universities, taking particular aim at foreign students by revoking visas and deporting some of those involved in protests against the war in Gaza. No additional visas A cable signed Tuesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and seen by AFP orders embassies and consulates not to allow 'any additional student or exchange visa… appointment capacity until further guidance is issued.' The government plans to ramp up vetting of the social media profiles of international applicants to US universities, the cable said. Rubio earlier rescinded hundreds of visas and the Trump administration has moved to bar Harvard University from admitting non-Americans. Asian students affected China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Wednesday said Beijing urged Washington to 'safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of international students, including those from China.' Hundreds of thousands of Chinese students attend US universities, long viewed by many in China as beacons of academic freedom and rigour. The sweeping US measures have resulted in foreign governments moving to snap up affected students, with Japan and Hong Kong urging local universities to take in more international applicants. ALSO READ: Harvard defies Trump as $2.2bn funding frozen In Taiwan, a PhD student set to study at the University of California told AFP they were left 'feeling uncertain' by the visa pause. 'I understand the process may be delayed but there is still some time before the semester begins in mid-August,' said the 27-year-old student who did not want to be identified. 'All I can do now is wait and hope for the best.' Protests at Harvard The suspension of visa processing came as Harvard students protested on Tuesday after the government said it intended to cancel all remaining financial contracts, Trump's latest attempt to force the institution to submit to unprecedented oversight. Trump is furious at Harvard for rejecting his administration's push for oversight on admissions and hiring, amid the president's claims the school is a hotbed of anti-Semitism and 'woke' liberal ideology. A judge issued a restraining order pending a hearing on the matter scheduled for Thursday, the same day as the university's graduation ceremony for which thousands of students and their families had gathered in Cambridge, Massachusetts near Boston. More 'American values', less 'LGBTQ graduates' The White House, meanwhile, doubled down in its offensive, saying that public money should go to vocational schools that train electricians and plumbers. 'The president is more interested in giving that taxpayer money to trade schools and programs and state schools where they are promoting American values, but most importantly, educating the next generation based on skills that we need in our economy and our society,' spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Tuesday evening. 'We need more of those in our country, and less LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University.' ALSO READ: Trump threatens Harvard after university rejects US demands Some Harvard students were worried that the Trump administration's policies would make US universities less attractive to international students. 'I don't know if I'd pursue a PhD here, six years is a long time,' said Jack, a history of medicine student from Britain who is graduating this week and gave one name. Havard takes legal action Harvard itself has filed extensive legal challenges against Trump's measures, which legal experts say are likely to be overturned by the courts. Separately, alumni plan to file a lawsuit against Trump on June 9, filmmaker Anurima Bhargava told a virtual meeting staged by Crimson Courage, a grassroots alumni group. The cutting of Harvard's contracts — estimated by US media to be worth $100 million — would mark the slashing of business ties between the government and the country's oldest university. In the last few weeks, the elite educational and research powerhouse has seen billions of dollars in federal grants frozen and millions of dollars of federal contracts torn up. The university has sued both to block the revocation of its right to recruit and sponsor foreign students, 27 percent of its total roll, as well as to overturn the withdrawal of federal funding. On Monday, Trump vowed he would prevail in the increasingly public struggle with Harvard, claiming that foreign students there include 'radicalized lunatics, troublemakers.' NOW READ: Trump admin revokes Harvard's right to enroll foreign students
