Trump Bans Harvard from Accepting International Students

All international students at Harvard must transfer or leave the U.S.

The Trump administration has blocked Harvard University from accepting international students. Current students have two options: transfer or leave the country.

The Department of Homeland Security announced the action Thursday, saying Harvard had created an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terror agitators” to attack Jewish students on campus. The DHS also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, saying it most recently hosted and trained members of a Chinese militant group in 2024.

“This means Harvard can no longer accept international students, and existing international students must transfer or lose their legal status,” the department said in a statement.

Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is home to nearly 6,800 international students, more than a quarter of the total student body. Most are graduate students from more than 100 countries.