Author: Sage Wong
On May 22nd, Secretary Kristi Noem of the Department of Homeland Security ended Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program. This meant that Harvard could no longer house international students. The reasons stated by the Department of Homeland Security include the fact that Harvard has done little to nothing to curb anti-semitism on campus, and has aided Iran and China in their research. The next day, US District Judge Allison Burroughs issued a restraining order on this action. On June 4th, Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation to bar any international students from attending Harvard, under the fact that presidents control immigration policy under the Immigration and Nationality Act. This action was also blocked by Judge Burroughs the next day. Trump’s ban on international students at Harvard should be upheld because it prevents China from taking advantage of American knowledge and prioritizes the education of Americans first.
Harvard has been known to train top communist officials. Most notably, this includes Li Yuanchao, China’s former vice president; Liu He, Xi Jinping’s trade negotiator; and Mingze Jinping, daughter of Xi Jinping. Currently, the US is in a political and economic war with China, the world’s second-largest economy, which is rapidly catching up to the US’s. To secure America’s place as the leader of the world and continue to be a beacon and prime example of a successful democratic country, we need to eliminate any edge the Chinese can have over us. This includes not allowing Chinese Communist Party members to gain experience as politicians and learn the various political tactics of the United States. This is supported by the fact that the composition of the Chinese Communist Party is increasing in terms of having foreign-educated students, going from 6% in 2002 to around 17% in 2013. The inside advantage can not be said to be true for the US, as most Americans choose to attend American universities, which are already ranked at the top of the world, whereas it is common for foreign students to attend American universities. Why arm the enemies of tomorrow with access to the institutions of highest knowledge?
An America-first approach is why many people elected Trump. It is also one of the direct consequences of banning international students at Harvard. Harvard has 7000 spots for international students, comprising 27% of its population. If he bans them, this will mean that 7000 more Americans, who’d typically be going to lower-tiered schools such as Rice University or Northwestern, will end up at Harvard. Then, the chain reaction continues. 7000 more Americans who’d typically be going to mid-tiered schools like Northeastern and Boston University will end up at that university. So on and so forth. Depending on the number of tiers, we could multiply this number by 7000 to see how many Americans’ quality of education has improved. A conservative estimate would be 5 tiers, and a more accurate estimate would be 8 tiers. So, from 35,000 students to 56,000 student’s education and lives could be drastically improved through this cascading effect. This is only if he does this to Harvard. If he does this to only the Ivy League schools, which house around 50,000 international students, the effect would be estimated to benefit from 250,000 to 400,000 students, the majority of them being Americans.
Works Cited
“Harvard University Loses Student and Exchange Visitor Program Certification for Pro-Terrorist Conduct.” Department of Homeland Security, 22 May 2025, www.dhs.gov/news/2025/05/22/harvard-university-loses-student-and-exchange-visitor-program-certification-pro. Accessed 12 June 2025.
Raymond, Nate, et al. “Trump ban on entry of international Harvard students blocked by US judge.” Reuters, 5 June 2025, www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-signs-proclamation-restrict-student-visas-harvard-2025-06-05/. Accessed 12 June 2025.
Tian, Yang. “Trump Harvard Ban: US President Suspends Foreign Student Visas.” BBC, 5 June 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr4zpnl2x3eo. Accessed 12 June 2025.
White House. “Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restricts the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” The White House, 4 June 2025, www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/06/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-restricts-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety-threats/. Accessed 12 June 2025.
Wong, Chun Han. “Harvard Has Trained So Many Chinese Communist Officials, They Call It Their ‘Party School.’” The Wall Street Journal, 1 June 2025, www.wsj.com/world/china/china-communist-party-harvard-f855112b. Accessed 12 June 2025.