"Harvard Will Continue..." How The University Reacted To Trump's Visa Ban

US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation restricting the student visas of foreign students at Harvard University, the White House announced on Wednesday. This is a temporary suspension, set to last for six months, although it can be extended.

Harvard University has responded to it by saying, “This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights.”

"Harvard will continue to protect its international students," it added.

Trump's proclamation also directs the U.S. State Department to consider revoking academic or exchange visas of any current Harvard students who meet his proclamation's criteria.

The US government has launched multiple attacks on Harvard including - freezing billions of dollars in grants and other funding and proposing to end its tax-exempt status. This has led to a series of legal battles between the Trump administration and the university.

The Ivy League university sued the Trump administration after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced her department was immediately revoking Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, on May 22.

The move was blocked by U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs.

Wednesday's two-page directive said Harvard had "demonstrated a history of concerning foreign ties and radicalism," and had "extensive entanglements with foreign adversaries," including China.

The FBI had "long warned that foreign adversaries take advantage of easy access to American higher education to steal information, exploit research and development and spread false information," the proclamation said.

It said Harvard had seen a "drastic rise in crime in recent years while failing to discipline at least some categories of conduct violations on campus," and had failed to provide sufficient information to the Homeland Security Department about foreign students' "known illegal or dangerous activities."

The row between the Trump administration and Harvard started when Trump accused the school of failing to protect Jewish students after the October 7 attack in 2023.

About one-fourth of Harvard's student body comprises international students. This escalation amid Harvard and the Trump administration is causing a ripple effect, starting from education and affecting diplomatic and research ties.