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Donald Trump blocks Harvard University from admitting foreign students
The Department of Homeland Security informed Harvard of the move as part of an ongoing investigation into the institution.
US President Donald Trump's administration is exercising its authority to prevent Harvard University from enrolling international students, AFP reported, citing a letter sent to the university by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The administration has revoked Harvard’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which allowed the university to sponsor international students for US visas and enrollment.
The move means Harvard can no longer enroll international students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status, it said.
The Department of Homeland Security informed Harvard of the move as part of an ongoing investigation into the institution, the report added.
"Effective immediately, Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor (SEVIS) Program certification is revoked," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a letter to the Ivy League institution, referring to the main system by which foreign students are permitted to study in the United States.
"This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus," Noem said in the letter, according to Reuters.
“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments,” she added.
Meanwhile, Harvard University has called the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to block international student enrollment “unlawful”, according to Reuters that cited the university's statement. The university added that it remains fully committed to preserving its ability to welcome international students and scholars from over 140 countries.
Harvard's Cambridge, Massachusetts campus hosts nearly 6,800 international students, making up over a quarter of its total enrollment. The majority are graduate students from over 100 countries.
(With inputs from agencies)
