Trump suspends entry of foreign students studying at Harvard University

United States President Donald Trump has suspended for an initial six months the entry into the U.S. of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard University.

Trump announced this on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.

Trump’s proclamation cited national security concerns as a justification for barring international students from entering the United States to pursue studies at the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university.

Harvard University in a statement called Trump’s proclamation “yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights.”

“Harvard will continue to protect its international students,” the university added.

Trump bans citizens of 12 countries from entering U.S.

The suspension can be extended beyond six months, Reuters reported.

Trump’s proclamation also directs the U.S. State Department to consider revoking academic or exchange visas of any current Harvard University students who meet his proclamation’s criteria.

The directive on Wednesday came a week after a federal judge in Boston announced she would issue a broad injunction blocking the administration from revoking Harvard’s ability to enroll international students, who make up about a quarter of its student body.

The administration has launched a multifront attack on the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, freezing billions of dollars in grants and other funding and proposing to end its tax-exempt status, prompting a series of legal challenges.

The Star