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CNN
23-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
We're ‘poker chips': International Harvard students describe fear after Trump administration moves to revoke their enrollment
International Harvard students say they are experiencing 'pure panic' amid the Trump administration's move to bar foreign enrollment, as students from around the world told CNN they are coming to grips with the possibility of revoked visas, suspended research and being blocked from reentry to the United States if they leave this summer. A federal judge temporarily halted the Trump administration's ban on Friday, after the nation's oldest and wealthiest college filed a suit in federal court. Harvard argued revocation of its certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program was 'clear retaliation' for its refusal of the government's ideologically rooted policy demands. But thousands of international students remain in limbo, and are 'very clearly, extremely afraid' because they don't know their current their legal status, Harvard student body co-president Abdullah Shahid Sial, who is from Lahore, Pakistan, told CNN. 'They're literally like, teenagers, thousands of miles away from their hometowns having to deal with this situation, which lawyers often fear to engage in,' said Sial, who is currently traveling overseas after exams and is uncertain if he'll be able to return to campus. About 27% of Harvard's student body is international, with 6,793 international undergraduates and grad students hailing from nearly every country in the world. 'Harvard is Harvard because it has the ability to attract people – the best people – from all over the world, not just the United States,' Sial told CNN on Friday. 'The US also benefits heavily from having the best in the world come to the university and study. And then they've been dehumanized and disrespected.' Sial said the university and deans have been helpful in supporting international students at a time of uncertainty and 'pure panic,' which is happening days after final exams ended and just one week before graduation. As student body president, he says he is working to encourage the university to assist international students who want to transfer to other colleges and pushing for students' financial aid packages to transfer, as well. But the window to transfer to other universities for the fall semester is already closed at most colleges, Sial said. 'Many of us have worked our entire lives to get to a university like Harvard, and now we need to wait around and see if we might have to transfer out and face difficulties with visas,' says rising junior Karl Molden, from Austria. Molden, who is also traveling abroad and concerned he won't be allowed to return to campus, said he feels international students are being used as a 'ball in this larger fight between democracy and authoritarianism.' Jared, an 18-year-old in New Zealand, was just accepted to Harvard and had been planning to start undergraduate studies at the Ivy League school this fall. He told CNN it was a 'heart drop' moment when he learned of the Trump administration's announcement – which came in the midst of applying for his student visa and preparing to move the 9,000 miles to Boston. Harvard and Trump officials have been locked in conflict for months as the administration demands the university make changes to campus programming, policies, hiring and admissions to root out what the White House has called antisemitism and 'racist' practices. Like many other colleges and universities, Harvard drew intense criticism last year for its handling of pro-Palestinian protests and encampments following the start of the Israel-Hamas war, as well as complaints from Jewish alumni and students about antisemitism on campus. Harvard has acknowledged antisemitism on its campus, particularly during the previous academic year, and said it has begun taking concrete action to address it. An Israeli postdoctoral student studying at Harvard said she feels like Jewish students are 'being used as pawns' by the Trump administration, which has accused the university of perpetuating an unsafe campus environment that is 'hostile to Jewish students' and 'employs racist diversity, equity and inclusion practices.' The Israeli student, who did not want to be named in fear of being denied reentry to the United States, said she believed the Trump administration was 'using' the university to 'have this battle with academia that is much bigger than Harvard.' She said the government was clamping down on ideas that 'don't always align with the administration, rather than (having) an actual concern for the safety of Jewish students, Israeli students.' 'So, I do feel like we're being used,' she said, adding that she thinks university leadership is taking the issue of antisemitism on campus seriously. 'I don't want to diminish anyone's experience at the university. I know people have had tough experiences, but I do feel like I have, personally, 100% trust and faith in our leadership.' Another Israeli master's student studying at Harvard, who wished to remain anonymous due to concerns about how speaking publicly might impact their studies, told CNN it is 'very important for Israelis and Jewish people to come here and still be very strong in what they believe in … And not only in Harvard, I would say in American academia and on American campuses right now, more than ever.' One graduate student from Australia, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being denied future US visas, told CNN it 'feels extraordinary that we are all being punished' for campus activism, given that researchers and PhD students often don't have the time or interest to engage. 'As a graduate student, we are just fully occupied with our research work, which I would say I spend 80 to 100 hours on each week,' said the Australian student, adding that the showdown between the Trump administration and Harvard will likely lead to researchers leaving the country. 'If things really hit the fan, (I) would probably be trying to transfer to a school in the UK.' Other graduate students said they are also feeling fear and uncertainty, with concerns for their research work, their future careers and their loved ones. 'There's the ramifications for their family, you know, spouses, their children, their enrollment, their work status, their rent, housing, everything,' said Fangzhou Jiang, 30, from China. He is a Harvard Kennedy School student going into his second year of a master's program. 'You just don't know what's going to happen.' For some international students, like those from countries at war or experiencing political turmoil, the stakes are even higher. Maria Kuznetsova, a former spokesperson for OVD-Info, a Russian independent human rights monitoring group, is currently a graduate student at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She's graduating in a week and had planned to work on a Harvard-sponsored visa that had already been granted, but she fears it may be canceled now. 'I used to work in Russian human rights and in the opposition, which means I can't return to Russia,' Kuznetsova told CNN. 'And since I've been living in the US for two years now, I don't even have a European visa. So, I don't really know where I could even go geographically if things go wrong.' 'From what I see, people are still in a state of panic – everyone's waiting for the court's decision,' Kuznetsova said. 'It's not just me from Russia here – there are also many Ukrainians, a lot of political students from Venezuela, and people from Afghanistan and Palestine. I even have a classmate from North Korea. These are people who, quite literally, cannot return to their home countries,' she added. Steven Pinker, Harvard University Professor of Psychology, says "The Trump administration is following the handbook of authoritarian regimes and dictatorships" by going after universities, law firms and media organizations that potentially oppose its policies. Ivan Bogantsev, also from Russia, was planning to stay in the US after completing his program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His wife, currently in Russia and also on a Harvard-sponsored visa, is due to arrive for his graduation, but he's unsure whether she'll be allowed entry. 'No one seems able to explain whether we're at risk of deportation or not,' Bogantsev told CNN. 'I believe a brain drain from this country is absolutely guaranteed. I can't say to what extent, but the environment here is extremely unfriendly.' But he said going back to Russia is not an option he is considering. 'I was detained at rallies (in Russia), and let's just say the atmosphere was growing increasingly tense. And secondly, most of my friends are essentially labeled (in Russia) as criminals, traitors or foreign agents.' Leo Gerdén, from Sweden, who is supposed to graduate next week, told CNN that some of his friends still at Harvard 'are making new plans of transferring, especially to other institutions abroad.' 'I was looking forward to celebrating commencement next week, but now, you know, I might leave this place and it will not look the same next semester, because without these international students and its international researchers, the Harvard campus will not be the same,' Gerdén said. 'We are being used essentially as poker chips in a battle between the White House and Harvard, and it feels honestly very dehumanizing.' CNN's Katelyn Polantz, Helen Regan, Todd Symons and Isa Soares contributed to this report.
Al Jazeera
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
US judge blocks Trump effort to bar Harvard from enrolling foreign students
A United States judge has issued a temporary restraining order against an effort to prevent Harvard University from enrolling foreign students. Friday's ruling comes in response to an emergency petition filed earlier in the day in the federal district court of Boston, Massachusetts. In that petition, Harvard sought immediate relief after the administration of President Donald Trump barred it from using a federal government system, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, that is required for the enrolment of international students. US District Judge Allison Burroughs agreed with Harvard that the school and its students may suffer harm if the Trump administration's decision is allowed to take effect. Her injunction is set to last for approximately two weeks, and she set hearing dates on May 27 and 29. Friday's lawsuit against the Trump administration is Harvard's second in less than two months. The latest is a response to a decision on Thursday announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Her department oversees the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, and she said she is revoking Harvard's privilege to use the system based on its failure to address Trump administration concerns. 'This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,' she wrote on social media. The revocation means that Harvard can no longer accept foreign students. Those already enrolled will need to transfer to another school. The move represents a major escalation in Trump's pressure campaign against Harvard and other top US universities. He has accused schools of allowing anti-Semitism to fester, promoting 'discriminatory' diversity programmes, and pushing ideological slants. But in Friday's lawsuit, Harvard called the Trump administration's actions a 'blatant violation' of the US Constitution and other federal laws. Barring the prestigious Ivy League school from enrolling its international students would have an 'immediate and devastating effect' on the university and the more than 7,000 visa holders in its student body, it argued. 'With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,' the complaint said. 'Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.' Trump's current battle against higher education can be largely traced back to the pro-Palestine protests that broke out on US campuses last year, in response to Israel's war in Gaza. Trump made cracking down on the antiwar protests a centrepiece of his 2024 re-election campaign. While there have been instances of harassment from participants on both sides of the issue, protest organisers have rejected claims of widespread anti-Jewish sentiment. Some campus protests have even been spearheaded by Jewish students and organisations, including Jewish Voice for Peace. Earlier this year, task forces at Harvard itself issued two reports, warning about instances of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias, as well as anti-Semitism. Harvard has said it is working to address these concerns. Nevertheless, in April, Harvard became the latest school to receive a list of demands from the Trump administration. The list included reforming its hiring and admissions practices, refusing to admit students deemed 'hostile to the American values and institutions', doing away with diversity programmes, and auditing academic programmes and centres, including several related to the Middle East. Harvard rejected the demands and immediately faced a freeze in $2.2bn in multi-year grants and $60m in multi-year contracts. Several federal agencies have since frozen tens of millions of dollars more in grants to Harvard. The university responded to Trump's funding freezes with a lawsuit in April, saying the administration was violating the First Amendment of the US Constitution with its 'arbitrary and capricious' cuts. Trump has also floated revoking Harvard's tax exempt status, and in April, Noem sent a letter to Harvard first threatening to revoke its Student and Exchange Visitor Program approval if administrators did not send information on any foreign students' 'illegal and violent activities'. At the end of April, Harvard said it had provided all legally required information, without providing further details. Friday's lawsuit seeks immediate relief from the Trump administration's decision to de-certify Harvard's ability to register foreign students, citing 'irreparable harm inflicted by this lawless action'. In response to the complaint, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson accused the school of doing too little to address the Trump administration's concerns. 'If only Harvard cared this much about ending the scourge of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators on their campus, they wouldn't be in this situation to begin with,' Jackson said. 'Harvard should spend their time and resources on creating a safe campus environment instead of filing frivolous lawsuits,' she added. In a letter to the Harvard community, school President Alan Garber framed Trump's attack on Harvard's foreign student body as part of 'a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence'. Garber described the de-certification as evidence of the 'federal government's illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body'. In its complaint, Harvard said the de-certification has thrown 'countless' academic programmes, clinics, courses and research laboratories into disarray. Harvard enrolled nearly 6,800 international students in its current school year, equal to 27 percent of its total enrolment. On Thursday, Noem also said Harvard could avoid the move if it turned over more information on foreign students, including video or audio of their protest activity over the past five years. Harvard has maintained it has already met the legal requirements in its disclosures.
Al Jazeera
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
‘Blatant violation': Harvard sues Trump over move to block foreign students
A United States judge has issued a temporary restraining order against an effort to prevent Harvard University from enrolling foreign students. Friday's ruling comes in response to an emergency petition filed earlier in the day in the federal district court of Boston, Massachusetts. In that petition, Harvard sought immediate relief after the administration of President Donald Trump barred it from using a federal government system, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, that is required for the enrolment of international students. US District Judge Allison Burroughs agreed with Harvard that the school and its students may suffer harm if the Trump administration's decision is allowed to take effect. Her injunction is set to last for approximately two weeks, and she set hearing dates on May 27 and 29. Friday's lawsuit against the Trump administration is Harvard's second in less than two months. The latest is a response to a decision on Thursday announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Her department oversees the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, and she said she is revoking Harvard's privilege to use the system based on its failure to address Trump administration concerns. 'This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,' she wrote on social media. The revocation means that Harvard can no longer accept foreign students. Those already enrolled will need to transfer to another school. The move represents a major escalation in Trump's pressure campaign against Harvard and other top US universities. He has accused schools of allowing anti-Semitism to fester, promoting 'discriminatory' diversity programmes, and pushing ideological slants. But in Friday's lawsuit, Harvard called the Trump administration's actions a 'blatant violation' of the US Constitution and other federal laws. Barring the prestigious Ivy League school from enrolling its international students would have an 'immediate and devastating effect' on the university and the more than 7,000 visa holders in its student body, it argued. 'With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,' the complaint said. 'Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.' Trump's current battle against higher education can be largely traced back to the pro-Palestine protests that broke out on US campuses last year, in response to Israel's war in Gaza. Trump made cracking down on the antiwar protests a centrepiece of his 2024 re-election campaign. While there have been instances of harassment from participants on both sides of the issue, protest organisers have rejected claims of widespread anti-Jewish sentiment. Some campus protests have even been spearheaded by Jewish students and organisations, including Jewish Voice for Peace. Earlier this year, task forces at Harvard itself issued two reports, warning about instances of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias, as well as anti-Semitism. Harvard has said it is working to address these concerns. Nevertheless, in April, Harvard became the latest school to receive a list of demands from the Trump administration. The list included reforming its hiring and admissions practices, refusing to admit students deemed 'hostile to the American values and institutions', doing away with diversity programmes, and auditing academic programmes and centres, including several related to the Middle East. Harvard rejected the demands and immediately faced a freeze in $2.2bn in multi-year grants and $60m in multi-year contracts. Several federal agencies have since frozen tens of millions of dollars more in grants to Harvard. The university responded to Trump's funding freezes with a lawsuit in April, saying the administration was violating the First Amendment of the US Constitution with its 'arbitrary and capricious' cuts. Trump has also floated revoking Harvard's tax exempt status, and in April, Noem sent a letter to Harvard first threatening to revoke its Student and Exchange Visitor Program approval if administrators did not send information on any foreign students' 'illegal and violent activities'. At the end of April, Harvard said it had provided all legally required information, without providing further details. Friday's lawsuit seeks immediate relief from the Trump administration's decision to de-certify Harvard's ability to register foreign students, citing 'irreparable harm inflicted by this lawless action'. In response to the complaint, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson accused the school of doing too little to address the Trump administration's concerns. 'If only Harvard cared this much about ending the scourge of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators on their campus, they wouldn't be in this situation to begin with,' Jackson said. 'Harvard should spend their time and resources on creating a safe campus environment instead of filing frivolous lawsuits,' she added. In a letter to the Harvard community, school President Alan Garber framed Trump's attack on Harvard's foreign student body as part of 'a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence'. Garber described the de-certification as evidence of the 'federal government's illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body'. In its complaint, Harvard said the de-certification has thrown 'countless' academic programmes, clinics, courses and research laboratories into disarray. Harvard enrolled nearly 6,800 international students in its current school year, equal to 27 percent of its total enrolment. On Thursday, Noem also said Harvard could avoid the move if it turned over more information on foreign students, including video or audio of their protest activity over the past five years. Harvard has maintained it has already met the legal requirements in its disclosures.
Bloomberg
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
These World Leaders Went to Harvard Before Trump's Foreign Student Ban
The Trump administration's move to block Harvard University from enrolling international students doesn't just put more financial pressure on the school but also threatens a cradle for global political leaders. The US Department of Homeland Security on Thursday revoked Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, citing an 'unsafe campus environment.' It means foreign students can no longer attend the university, while existing international students must transfer or lose their legal status.
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Judge Blocks Trump Administration From Revoking Student Visas
A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration's wide-reaching effort to detain and deport international students, barring the federal government from arresting those students or revoking their visas while the case plays out in court. Judge Jeffrey S. White of the Northern District of California, who was appointed to the court by President George W. Bush, granted a temporary injunction protecting international students who were among the thousands whose visas were revoked earlier this year without clear justification, writing that government officials had 'uniformly wreaked havoc' and 'likely exceeded their authority and acted arbitrarily and capriciously' by the mass revocation of students' immigration status. 'The relief the court grants provides plaintiffs with a measure of stability and certainty,' Judge White wrote in the 21-page order. 'That they will be able to continue their studies or their employment without the threat of re-termination hanging over their heads.' Judge White's ruling said that the order applied to all 'similarly situated individuals' who participate in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which is the system governing student visas. In the order, he expressed suspicion that the Trump administration was trying to place future visa 'terminations beyond judicial review.' 'At each turn in this and similar litigation across the nation,' Judge White wrote, 'defendants have abruptly changed course to satisfy courts' expressed concerns. It is unclear how this game of whack-a-mole will end unless defendants are enjoined from skirting their own mandatory regulations.' The order comes hours after the Trump administration halted Harvard University's ability to enroll international students, and it is likely that this nationwide order could at least in part prevent the Trump administration's move from being enforced.
