The foreign students of Harvard University Reel of Trump Administration Ban

When Shreya Mishra Reddy was admitted to Harvard University in 2023, her parents were “ecstatic”.

It is “the ultimate school where everyone in India wants to go,” she tells the BBC.

Now, with graduating around the corner, she had to break the bad news to her family: she may not have graduated from the executive leadership program in July after The Trump administration moved to Harvard to register international students “As a result of their absenteeism to comply with the law”.

“It was very difficult for my family to hear. They are still trying to process it,” she told the BBC.

Mrs. Reddy is one of the approximately 6,800 international students of Harvard, who are more than 27% of his registrations this year. They are a crucial source of income for the Ivy League school. About a third of foreign students come from China, and more than 700 are Indian, such as Mrs. Reddy.

They are all not sure about what they can expect afterwards. Harvard has called the move “illegal”, which can lead to a legal challenge.

But that leaves the future of the students in the Limo, whether it is those who wait to register this summer, or are halfway through the university, or even those waiting for graduating whose opportunities for work are tied to their student visa.

Those who are already on Harvard would switch to other American universities to stay in the US and keep their visas.

“I hope Harvard will be in front of us and a solution can be worked out,” says Mrs. Reddy.

The university has said that it is “fully committed to maintaining (her) ability to organize our international students and scientists who come from more than 140 countries and enrich the university – and this nation – immeasurably”.

The move against Harvard has enormous implications for the million international students in the US. And it follows a growing performance by the Trump government about the institutions of higher education, especially those who witnessed large pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

Dozens of them are confronted with investigations, because the government tries to revise their accreditation process and reform the way they are run.

The White House First threatened to crack foreign students from Harvard In April, after the university refused to make changes to recruitment, admission and educational practices. And it also froze almost $ 3 billion in federal subsidies, which is a challenge in court.

Nevertheless, the announcement of Thursday made students falter.

The Chinese student Kat Xie, who is in a voice program in her second year, says that she is “in shock”.

“I was almost forgotten (the earlier threat of a ban) and then the announcement on Thursday suddenly came.”

But she adds that some of her “the worst” had expected, so she had spent in recent weeks with professional advice on how she could stay in the US.

But the options are “all very difficult and expensive,” she says.

The Trump government seemed to explain China when he accused Harvard of “coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party” in her statement.

Beijing responded on Friday by criticizing the “politicization” of education.

It said that the move would “only harm the image and the international status of the United States”, where he would “insist on the ban”.

“This is not all we have registered for,” says 20-year-old Abdullah Shahid Sial from Pakistan, a very vocal student activist.

A junior main subject in applied mathematics and economy, he was one of only two Pakistani students who were admitted to Harvard in 2023.

He was also the first person in his family who studied abroad. It was a “huge” moment for them, he says.

The situation in which he is now, he adds, is “ridiculous and dehumanizing”.

Both Mrs. Reddy and Mr Sial said that foreign students signed up to go to the University in the US because they see it as a hospitable place where opportunities are present in abundance.

“You have so much to learn from different cultures, from people with different backgrounds. And everyone really appreciated that,” says Mrs. Reddy, adding that this had been her experience at Harvard so far.

But Mr. Sial says that this has changed more recently and foreign students no longer feel welcome – the Trump administration has withdrawn hundreds of student visa and even held students on campuses throughout the country. Many of them were linked to pro-Palestinian protests.

Now Mr. Sial adds, there is a lot of fear and uncertainty in the international student community.

That is only exacerbated by the latest development. A postgraduate student from South Korea says she has second thoughts to go home for the summer because she fears that she will not be able to enter the US.

She did not want to reveal her name because she is worried that her chances of staying in the US can influence. She is a year away from graduation.

She said she had a debilitating semester and looked forward to “reuniting with friends and family” – to reunite.

The fear among foreign students can be felt, says Jiang Fangzhou, who reads public administration in the Harvard Kennedy School.

“We may have to leave immediately, but people here have their lives – apartments, lease contracts, lessons and community. These are not things where you can walk away at night.”

And the prohibition not only influences current students, says the 30-year-old New Zealander.

“Think of the incoming, people who have already rejected from other schools and have planned their lives around Harvard. They are now completely fixed.”

Additonal reporting by Mengchen Zhang