Shock and anger as Harvard students react to Trump's foreign enrollment ban

The move, announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on May 22, terminates Harvards Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification for the 2025–2026 academic year. The decision not only blocks the admission of new international students but also forces current ones to either transfer or face losing their legal status.

"Imagine being an incoming freshman," said Harvard senior Leo Gerden, who came to the U.S. from Sweden four years ago. "Now you're seeing the news and what is happening, and you might not even be able to come. It must be just heartbreaking," WBZ-TV reported.

Gerden, who is preparing to graduate next week, described the campus as restless with students scrambling for answers. "Everyone’s going to have to make a plan B if this goes through, but we’re hoping that Harvard will fight for us."

Zilin Ma, a Chinese PhD candidate set to graduate this weekend, said the news came like a thunderbolt. "We are still in panic mode," he told CBS News. "The Trump administration thinks we are not valuable assets to this country. I don’t know what to say. It’s a shame. It’s a disappointment."

The administration has demanded that Harvard hand over extensive records on foreign students, including any video or audio from protests in the past five years. The university has refused, calling the demand illegal and retaliatory.

"It smacks of political retaliation and raises constitutional red flags," said Massachusetts state representative Tram Nguyen, a Harvard Kennedy School alumna. "It sends the message that talent is not welcome here if it comes from abroad."

More than 150 Singaporean students are currently enrolled at Harvard. One of them, speaking to The Straits Times on condition of anonymity, said he learned of the news while checking his phone between classes. "Harvard has always been a dream of mine... It’s sad to think that these opportunities might not be available for others."

Another Singaporean student said that while professors and classmates have offered support, official guidance has been sparse. "We’ve tried to get in contact with the Singapore embassy in D.C., and they’re working on some sort of solution... but nothing firm yet."

Harvard enrolls nearly 6,800 international students, accounting for over a quarter of its student body. Many now find themselves in limbo, caught between the threat of deportation and the hope that the university will mount a successful legal challenge.

On May 23, the Ivy League school sued the Trump administration over President Donald Trump's decision to revoke its ability to enroll international students, Reuters reported.

In a complaint filed in Boston federal court, Harvard called the revocation a "blatant violation" of the U.S. Constitution and other federal laws, and had an "immediate and devastating effect" on the university and more than 7,000 visa holders.

"With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission," Harvard said.