Trump says Harvard should have 15 pc cap on foreign students
US President Donald Trump said that there should be a cap of around 15 per cent on foreign students at Harvard University while continuing to pressure
Published on May 29, 2025
By IANS
- WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said that there should be a cap of
around 15 per cent on foreign students at Harvard University while continuing
to pressure it to submit its list of foreign students.
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- "Harvard has to show us their lists," Trump
told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. "They have foreign
students. About 31 per cent of their students are foreign-based. Almost 31 per
cent. We want to know where those students come from. Are they
troublemakers?"
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- Trump claimed that many of those students were
troublemakers "caused by the radical left lunatics in this country."
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- "I think they should have a cap of maybe around 15
per cent, not 31 per cent, we have people want to go to Harvard and other
schools they can't get in because we have foreign students there," he
said.
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- After Trump returned to the White House, he has targeted
many US universities, warning that those that do not adjust their policies will
face funding cuts, reports Xinhua news agency.
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- The Trump administration's main demands include
eradicating antisemitism on campus and abolishing diversity initiatives that
favour minority groups.
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- With billions of dollars in funding frozen, its
tax-exempt status in jeopardy and multiple investigations underway, Harvard is
facing an unprecedented crisis.
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- On May 22, the Department of Homeland Security announced
the revocation of Harvard's eligibility for the Student and Exchange Visitor
Program -- one of the latest moves by the Trump administration aimed at
pressuring the university.
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- Harvard has filed a lawsuit against the federal
government, and a federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked the
ban, and a court hearing on the issue was scheduled for May 29. Previously,
Harvard filed a lawsuit against the administration over federal funding cuts.
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- According to data from Harvard, as of fall 2023,
international students made up more than 27 per cent of the total student
population. Currently, Harvard enrols nearly 6,800 international students and
scholars from over 140 countries and regions, most of whom are pursuing
graduate programs.
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