"Feels Like Punishment": Foreign Harvard Student On Donald Trump's Ban

With an admission letter in hand, many international students enrolled at Harvard University have been left anxious as US President Donald Trump revoked the university's authority to enroll foreign students under a federal government scheme called the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Some international students who graduated from the Ivy League University today had plans to stay in the US and work on a visa extension program. Their future now lies in the hands of the Trump administration.

Sultanali Nurmanuly, a Kazakhstan student who graduated from Harvard University today, told NDTV that the ban "feels like a punishment".

"Think we definitely feel the injustice because of all the US schools, it's just Harvard, you know. Other schools had student activities that the Trump administration was criticising. But it is the university administration's actions not complying with everything that the government officials have asked, which has led to this," Mr Nurmanuly said.

He added, "For me, as someone who was not involved in the political climate of the country and all over the world...maybe I should be more involved... but I wasn't, and as someone who wasn't very involved in that it feels like a punishment even though I haven't done anything. I do agree that having a student visa here and having an opportunity to study here is a privilege."

As someone who is graduating from Harvard, Mr Nurmanuly said that the ban does not affect him as much as other students. However, he had plans of getting a visa extension and working in the US.

"I know that other students were suffering a lot, especially the ones who just got in. Harvard actually sent out some emails a few months ago for newly admitted students that they should matriculate to other schools as well, just in case they have visa complications. But in terms of me and other students who are graduating, I think it affects us too, because most of us would plan to stay here and work on a visa extension program called OPT, optional practical training," he said.

"I'm going to have a three-year extension, which lets me work here without an H1B visa - a work visa - sponsored by companies. But if my international students' visa does get revoked, the OPT extension would be cancelled immediately. So we'll see how it goes," he told NDTV.

Mr Nurmanuly studied economics at Harvard.

According to him, Harvard, as a liberal arts school, has one of the most demanding and popular degrees.

Speaking on the challenges, Mr Nurmanuly said that he had a culture shock when he first started studying at Harvard.

"But I think there was more of a liberal space here. It was pretty welcoming. The presence of international students isn't very large per se at Harvard College. I think it's 10 to 15 per cent. It's more for the whole Harvard University, but students from Harvard College, as international students, are not many. There weren't a lot of us, but it was fine. I liked it," he said.

When the Trump administration announced a ban on international students at Harvard, Mr Nurmanuly was travelling out of the US.

"I just flew back to the US a few days ago, so when I got the news, I was actually out of the country. If the Trump administration's change had taken effect immediately, that would mean that my student visa would be revoked, but it was fun because, in the end, they froze the action, I think, and then I just passed the border control. It was fine, no issues," he said.

Trump's crackdown on universities

Donald Trump's crackdown on top universities in the United States has taken a more aggressive stance within a few months of the Republican leader taking office for the second term. Trump, who is seeking to eliminate anti-semitism on campuses and push his demands, had even accused his predecessor, Joe Biden, of letting the universities off the hook. Harvard had first fallen prey to the crackdown last month when the White House put a $2.2 billion freeze on federal funding. Trump had put forth a few conditions to revoke the ban on federal funding, but Harvard refused.

Last week, the administration sent a letter to the university banning the Ivy League's ability to enrol international students amid an ongoing investigation into the university. It also mentioned said that Harvard could still reverse the government's ban and enroll foreign students - if they fulfill Trump's conditions within 72 hours. However, the university refused again.

Shortly after receiving the letter, Harvard slammed the Trump administration and called the move "unlawful".

"We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University - and this nation - immeasurably. We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community. This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission," Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton said in a statement.

(With inputs from Natasha Israni)