Harvard is, as you probably know, one of the most prestigious universities on the planet. Well, now it’s about to stop being one. It all started with a decision by the Trump administration: to prevent the university from enrolling foreign students. What? You heard that right. The most prestigious university in the world would only be allowed to accept U.S. citizens, and of course, this has caused a huge crisis in the university’s image and in its global projection.
The order was temporarily suspended by a federal judge, but the damage is already done… From European elites to the Chinese government, many have publicly questioned Harvard’s future as a global educational reference.
And in the middle of all this geopolitical debate, real lives are hanging by a thread: the lives of thousands of young people who dreamed of studying there and now see that dream wobble because of a political decision. Want to know what’s going on?
Why is Trump targeting Harvard?
We already know Trump doesn’t like migration much, and that he wants America first, but this decision to block the enrolment of foreign students goes further. For many analysts, it’s a direct blow to universities like Harvard that usually take a critical stance toward the White House. The institution itself has described this action as an “existential threat,” arguing in a legal complaint that without its international students, “Harvard is not Harvard.”
And what triggered it?
Until now, the university had already suffered financial losses in research (specifically, 2.6 billion dollars), but this goes beyond money. It’s a direct attack on what makes Harvard most interesting on a global level: the brightest minds from all over the world.
Trump and his administration claim that universities like Harvard abuse the immigration system and collaborate with international actors that could pose a risk to national security… Seriously?
From Belgium to Egypt
Of course, the news quickly spread around the world, and one of the first affected was Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, who completed her first postgraduate year at Harvard. The royal palace has confirmed that it still doesn’t know if she’ll be able to return next term, a situation that has caused a huge media stir in Europe.
The Chinese government didn’t take long to speak up either. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that these actions “will only damage the international image and credibility of the U.S.” For a country like China, where academic prestige is a strategic factor, this decision undermines global trust in the U.S. education system.
Voices from campus
Walid Akef, an Egyptian Art History student, describes the situation as “absolutely disastrous.” This student had been preparing for Harvard for 15 years, learning languages and earning multiple master’s degrees. Now, his future and that of his family hang by a thread.
Akef has some hope that the university will manage to overturn this measure, but he admits he is already considering other countries, given the increasingly hostile climate toward international students in the U.S. What’s happening to us as a society…?
Harvard responds: pressure and resilience
Harvard hasn’t stood still, of course. The university has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, which for now has managed to temporarily block the measure. But this suspension is just a band-aid, not a permanent solution.
Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard. https://t.co/V8uvTNaL64
— Harvard University (@Harvard) May 23, 2025
What’s really at stake?
Although Harvard would lose millions in tuition fees from international students, the real problem is not economic. The university attracts the best minds from all over the world and trains the leaders of the future. If it stops doing that, it loses part of its essence…
From the Department of Homeland Security…
As we said before, the Trump administration sees Harvard as “a nest of communism and antisemitism.” The latter is because many students have taken a stand to stop the ethnic genocide happening in Palestine at the hands of the Zionist Israeli government (now condemning a genocide means being called a nest of communism, right…), and this was made clear by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on her Twitter account.
Harvard, hold on!
The fact that one of the most prestigious institutions in the world is caught up in a political conflict over immigration is not a sign of a changing era, but of how little we have left as a society with ethical values. When talking about education, we shouldn’t be looking at the colour or the passport of the students… Is our president afraid to discover that the U.S. is not the centre of the universe?