On Wednesday, June 4, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation to suspend the entry of foreign nationals who plan to study or take part in exchange programmes at Harvard University. The White House said the decision was part of a growing dispute with the Ivy League institution.
The order also asked the US State Department to consider cancelling the visas of current Harvard students who meet the conditions stated in the proclamation.
Last month, the State Department had already directed US embassies and consulates abroad to carry out extra checks on visa applicants who wanted to travel to Harvard for any reason. This instruction was shared through an internal cable reported by Reuters.
Harvard University responded by saying the Trump administration is taking action against it because the university refused to follow government demands related to how it runs the school, including its academic content and the beliefs of its faculty and students.
The proclamation said Harvard had a record of foreign connections and radical ideas. It also mentioned concerns raised by the FBI about foreign threats using American universities to gain access to research, spread misinformation and steal data.
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The order also claimed that Harvard had seen more crime on campus in recent years and had not acted strongly enough on certain types of student misconduct. It accused the university of not giving enough information to the US Department of Homeland Security about foreign students who were allegedly involved in illegal or dangerous activities.
The proclamation said that Harvard received over 150 million dollars from China and had strong links with foreign adversaries. It also claimed that many people responsible for antisemitic incidents on campus were foreign students.
This restriction on student visas is the latest step by the Trump administration against Harvard. Earlier actions included blocking federal funding, ending the university’s tax-exempt status and starting an investigation into alleged discrimination against white, Asian, male or straight individuals in employment.
President Trump has repeatedly said that top US universities support anti-American ideas. In May, his administration cancelled Harvard’s permission to enrol foreign students, though a federal judge later stopped that move.
