The U.S. has strong, independent institutions that protect diversity and stop those in power from making unfair decisions.
President Trump targeted Harvard, the oldest and richest U.S. university, by investigating it, freezing funds, and now banning it from enrolling new foreign students in 2025-26.
About 27% of Harvard’s current students are international, including over 750 from India, who would have to leave or transfer elsewhere.
The U.S. government says student visas are a privilege and uses them and Harvard’s tax status to pressure the university.
Authoritarian leaders often attack institutions they see as enemies to create confusion and weaken them over time.
Harvard attracts top global talent and promotes liberal ideas and globalization, but some Trump supporters view it as an elite institution excluding working-class people.
Harvard also offers many scholarships to balance admissions despite considering family background.
Harvard plans to fight the government’s ban in court, as it did before when funds were frozen.
Even if courts stop the ban, the damage to Harvard’s reputation and American higher education’s image has already happened and will be hard to fix.
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