Trump Renews Attacks on Harvard Over Student Data Dispute
The Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. Photo: Xinhua
May 25, 2025 Hour: 11:34 am
His administration asked Harvard to provide information on students who have participated in pro-Palestinian rallies.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump once again lashed out at Harvard University for refusing to share its students’ personal data with his administration.
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“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. Nobody told us that!” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“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. We want those names and countries. Harvard has US$52,000,000 — use it, and stop asking for the federal government to continue granting money to you!” he emphasized.
Previously, the Trump administration had asked Harvard to provide information on students who have participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent years.
On Thursday, after the university declined to provide the data, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that her department would stop issuing visas to foreign students at Harvard.
She also said that those already enrolled at the university would have to transfer to another institution or risk being expelled from the country.
The next day, following a lawsuit filed by Harvard, a federal judge temporarily blocked the measure. In recent months, Trump has cut nearly US$2 billion in federal funding to the university.
The Trump administration, which accuses Harvard of antisemitism and of favoring the Chinese Communist Party through its exchange programs, has also threatened to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status.
Previously, Harvard publicly stated that foreign students make up 27.2% of its student body for the current academic year.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
