President Donald Trump on Sunday criticized foreign countries for paying “nothing” toward the education of their citizens who are attending college at Harvard and other U.S. institutions.
This comes amid the fight between the Trump administration and Harvard for its plans to revoke the university’s ability to enroll foreign students.
“Why isn’t Harvard saying that almost 31% of their students are from FOREIGN LANDS, and yet those countries, some not at all friendly to the United States, pay NOTHING toward their student’s education, nor do they ever intend to,” Trump wrote early Sunday morning on Truth Social. “Nobody told us that!”
JUDGE TEMPORARILY PAUSES TRUMP MOVE TO CANCEL HARVARD STUDENT VISA POLICY AFTER LAWSUIT
President Donald Trump criticized foreign countries for paying “nothing” towards the education of their citizens who are attending college at Harvard and other U.S. institutions. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“We want to know who those foreign students are, a reasonable request since we give Harvard BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but Harvard isn’t exactly forthcoming,” he continued. “We want those names and countries. Harvard has $52,000,000, use it, and stop asking for the Federal Government to continue GRANTING money to you!”
On Friday, a judge temporarily blocked the administration from canceling Harvard’s student visa program after the university filed a lawsuit against the federal government.
Harvard argued that the policy would affect more than 7,000 visa holders — nearly a quarter of the student body — and that the administration’s effort is a “blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act,” according to its court filing.
“It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the ‘ideology’ of its faculty and students,” Harvard wrote in its complaint.
A Graduate School of Arts and Sciences flag on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Getty Images)
FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM TERMINATING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ LEGAL STATUS
The Department of Homeland Security moved to terminate Harvard’s visa program after the university allegedly failed to provide extensive behavioral records of student visa holders the agency had requested.
The records sought include any footage of protest activity involving student visa holders, even if it’s not criminal, and the disciplinary records of all student visa holders in the past five years.
Requested records also include footage or documentation of illegal, dangerous or violent activity by student visa holders, any records of threats or the deprivation of rights of other students or university personnel.
DHS had moved to terminate Harvard’s visa program after the university allegedly failed to provide extensive behavioral records of student visa holders the agency had requested. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Harvard called the new policy “pernicious” and accused the administration of departing from “decades of settled practice” and coming “without rational explanation.” The university also said the policy was “carried out abruptly without any of the robust procedures the government has established to prevent just this type of upheaval to thousands of students’ lives.”
At least a dozen Harvard students have had their student visas revoked over campus protest activity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said before Congress on Tuesday that the administration has probably revoked thousands already and would “proudly” revoke more.
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The administration has already frozen close to $3 billion in federal funding to the university, largely dedicated to research, over claims that Harvard has not adequately responded to alleged campus antisemitism in protests and has not moved to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.