Harvard’s Foreign Students Cancel Flights, Seek Legal Aid After Trump Ban

Chinese students at Harvard University have cancelled their flights home on Friday, seeking legal advice on staying in the United States after President Donald Trump’s administration blocked the famous university from enrolling foreign students.

Chinese nationals form the largest group at the elite Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The order, which said the university coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), among other accusations, will force current foreign students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status and could be widened to other colleges.

Harvard called the government’s action “unlawful” and said it was “fully committed” to educating foreign students.

“I think the Chinese community definitely feels like a more targeted entity compared to other groups,” said Zhang, a 24-year-old studying for the PhD in Physics.

“Some friends gave me advice that I should try not to stay in my current accommodation if things escalate, because they think it’s possible that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent can take you from your apartment,” said Zhang, who did not give his first name for security reasons.

Zhang said many among Harvard’s Chinese students were worried about their visa status and internship prospects, though others believed the school will likely win any legal battles.

The number of Chinese international students in the United States has dropped to about 277,000 in 2024 from a high of around 370,000 in 2019, driven partly by growing tension between the world’s two biggest economies and heightened US government scrutiny of some Chinese students.

The university said Chinese nationals made up a fifth of Harvard’s foreign student intake in 2024.

“Our teachers have sent us an email saying the school is actively working hard on a response within the next 72 hours and aims to negotiate with the government,” said Teresa, a Chinese postgraduate student at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Her post on Friday on the Instagram-like Xiaohongshu platform was titled “Harvard refugee”.

As tension has risen in recent years between China and the United States, Chinese families have increasingly sent their children to universities in other English-speaking countries, such as Australia and Singapore.

On Friday, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology said it would provide “unconditional offers, streamlined admission procedures, and academic support to facilitate a seamless transition” for affected students.