Foreign students in "panic mode" at Harvard after Trump administration blocks enrollment
Panic is setting in for Harvard students coming from abroad, scrambling to find another university and another plan as the Trump administration announced that the Ivy League school can no longer enroll foreign students.
"Imagine being an incoming freshman," Harvard senior Leo Gerden told WBZ-TV. "Now you're seeing the news and what is happening, and you might not even be able to come. It must be just heartbreaking."
Gerden arrived on Harvard's campus four years ago from Sweden. Getting that acceptance letter was the happiest day of his life. He's excited to graduate next week but said he's sad at the state of the school that he's leaving behind.
Harvard students making new plans
"People have been making new plans for the last couple of weeks," Gerden explained. "Everyone's going to have to make a plan B if this goes through, but we're hoping that Harvard will fight for us."
This is the latest in the ongoing battle between the White House and Harvard sparked by a series of on-campus protests and rallies.
First, the loss of billions of dollars in federal funding and now restrictions on international students.
"It shows how cruel and how far Trump is willing to go to essentially install himself as provost of this university because that is his goal," Gerden said. "He wants influence over every independent institution in this country and it's really taken from a fascist playbook."
"It's a shame"
Zilin Ma is a Harvard PhD student from China and set to graduate Saturday. He's spent 10 years pursuing higher education in the U.S.
"We are still in the panic mode because this news just broke out like a few hours ago," Ma said. "We are still waiting to see what is going to happen."
His most recent work at Harvard included research to support humanitarian negotiations in developing countries.
"The Trump administration thinks we are not valuable assets to this country," Ma said. "I don't know what to say. It's a shame. It's a disappointment."
Cornell William Brooks is a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. He's also the former president of the NAACP. "The amount of uncertainty here injected into the lives of real people is just absolutely extraordinary," Brooks said.
Brooks calls this latest move in the months long back and forth an unfounded attack in the name of xenophobia. "We are literally rendering international students kind of intellectual pariah," Brooks said.
State Rep. calls move "un-American"
"It smacks of political retaliation and raises constitutional red flags," state Rep. Tram Nguyen said. "It's not just an immigration issue. It's a First Amendment issue."
Rep. Nguyen graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School last year - and calls the move "un-American."
"It sends the message that talent is not welcome here if it comes from abroad. We are an economic driver here in Massachusetts and a lot of this work comes from international students and international workers," Nguyen said.
A White House spokesperson said Harvard had plenty of opportunities to address the protests, doubling down that enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right.
Gerden disagrees.
"Many international students come from very authoritarian countries, and they come because of democracy and because of all the freedoms you can enjoy in this country," Gerden said. "If that is taken away, then here is no university without academic freedom."
Data shows that one in four Harvard students come from abroad.
The move could also impact Harvard sports teams.
