Trump bans international students from entering US to study at Harvard amid ongoing feud

President Donald Trump on Wednesday night issued a proclamation that banned international students from coming to the United States in order to study at Harvard University.

The move is the latest in an ongoing feud between the Ivy League institution and the current presidential administration over its international students and faculty. The Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification last month, which was blocked by a federal judge.

Trump claimed the new order was valid because admission to the U.S. to study or work at elite schools is a "privilege granted by our Government, not a guarantee."

"That privilege is necessarily tied to the host institution's compliance and commitment to following Federal law," he continued. "Harvard University has failed in this respect, among many others."

Trump said he is making the proclamation because the students and faculty could pose a national security risk to the country. Students, including international students, at U.S. colleges nationwide have engaged in unruly protests over the past year and exhibited antisemitic behavior. 

"Protecting our national security requires host institutions of foreign students to provide sufficient information, when asked, to enable the Federal Government to identify and address misconduct by those foreign students," Trump wrote. "In my judgment, it presents an unacceptable risk to our Nation's security for an academic institution to refuse to provide sufficient information, when asked, about known instances of misconduct and criminality committed by its foreign students."

"These concerns have compelled the Federal Government to conclude that Harvard University is no longer a trustworthy steward of international student and exchange visitor programs," he continued. "When a university refuses to uphold its legal obligations, including its recordkeeping and reporting obligations, the consequences ripple far beyond the campus."

The order coincides with another presidential proclamation that bans travel to the United States from 12 countries that were determined to pose a threat to national security, including Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.