In the 24 hours since the Trump administration announced that Harvard would no longer be able to host international enrollees for the 2025-2026 academic year, University affiliates have stood their ground.
“We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action,” University President Alan Garber ’76 wrote in a University-wide message on the morning of May 23. “It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams.”
The most recently updated list of schools certified for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program is over 200 pages and includes all eight Ivy League institutions.
The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s letter claimed that the SEVP certificate revocation means that current Harvard enrollees with F-1 visas or J-1 nonimmigrants must transfer to other institutions for the 2025-2026 academic year, and the University cannot host any incoming individuals under those classifications. Harvard has 72 hours to respond with newly requested information to reverse this amendment.
Since the 2006-2007 academic year, around 20% of Harvard University’s total enrollment has been international. Hailing from over 140 countries, the 2024-2025 academic year saw the largest percentage of nonimmigrant individuals, reaching 27.2% or 6,793 undergraduate and graduate students. The Graduate School of Design, in particular, strongly benefits from its foreign population, with 53% of its enrollees for the 2022-2023 academic year being non-U.S. citizens. During this same year, 12% of Harvard College’s student body was foreign.
“For those international students and scholars affected by yesterday’s action, know that you are vital members of our community. You are our classmates and friends, our colleagues and mentors, our partners in the work of this great institution,” Garber continued.
Student leadership followed suit. “In light of the recent revocation of Harvard’s SEVP status by the Department of Homeland Security, the Harvard Undergraduate Association stands in complete solidarity with members of our international community and strongly condemns the explicit targeting of Harvard’s international population,” announced the Harvard Undergraduate Association, Harvard’s student government, in a statement released May 23.
“With many of the core members of our undergraduate community being on student visas, we understand the way students from all across the globe enrich the spaces we share. We are working closely with the administration to ensure that our peers are supported in the best manner possible in these testing times.”
Campus groups similarly responded.
The Institute of Politics is Harvard’s largest undergraduate organization, with 18 programs, six coalitions, and a membership of over 1,200 students. Although the IOP is nonpartisan, its Student Advisory Committee asserted that “interference with students’ education is not a partisan issue. Using the lives of students as political leverage is a deeply inhumane act.”
“For 58 years, current and future leaders from around the world have gathered at the Institute of Politics to learn from their differences, share their values, and maximize their impact,” the SAC continued.
“The IOP is home to hundreds of international students. They are integral to realizing our nonpartisan mission of inspiring ethical and effective public service around the world…our student leadership team strongly rebukes this targeted, unproductive, and deeply unjust measure.”
The Harvard College Democrats’ 197th executive board called the administration’s revocation of Harvard’s credentials to enroll international students “textbook authoritarianism,” adding that “Harvard must continue to hold the line.”
“This university has been the epicenter of the right’s war on education for some time, but today’s escalation goes far beyond what we’ve seen so far. This is Trump punitively targeting international students simply because Harvard refused to fully cooperate with an unconstitutional attempt to curtail academic freedom,” they added.
“Democracy dies when dissenting voices cannot speak freely. Harvard held the line when it needed to, and now faces retribution.”
The Harvard Republican Club has not yet responded to yesterday’s developments. However, on April 14, the student organization’s board spoke on the proposed funding cuts. “The Harvard Republican Club believes that this University can be Great. We are hopeful that a resolution can be reached and that Harvard will return to the American principles that formed the great men of this nation.”
The College’s cultural organizations condemned the Trump administration’s decision.
“Harvard’s South Asian Association strongly condemns the US Department of Homeland Security’s recent decision,” an Instagram post from SAA on May 22 read. “If this decision by the current federal administration is actualized, Harvard will lose some of its greatest minds and kindest souls, and SAA will irrevocably lose its community.”
Harvard’s Black Men’s Forum had commentary akin to SAA’s. “International students at Harvard form an irreplaceable part of the school community and Harvard’s BMF,” an Instagram post from the student organization on May 22 declared. “As Harvard’s administration navigates the consequences of this prejudiced decision, Harvard’s BMF’s [sic] reiterates our unwavering support for our international community.”
These statements come weeks after the University withdrew funding for Class of 2025 affinity group graduation celebrations.
As the events of this certification removal continue to unfold, Harvard’s student, faculty, and administrative population will likely continue to adjust and respond to the Trump administration.
“To all international students: you belong at Harvard, and we will stand for you,” the SAA post concluded.
“Thanks to you, we know more and understand more, and our country and our world are more enlightened and more resilient. We will support you as we do our utmost to ensure that Harvard remains open to the world,” Garber commented.
Harvard has filed a complaint against this SEVP certification removal and followed up with a temporary restraining order. TRO approval was granted on May 23.
There is a community gathering at the Queens Head Pub from 5-6 p.m. on May 23 for all available University affiliates. The Harvard International Office has released resources related to the Trump administration’s actions against the international student body.
Layla Chaaraoui ’26 (laylachaaraoui@college.harvard.edu) and Sara Kumar ’27 (sjkumar@college.harvard.edu) write News for the Harvard Independent.