Trump, in ‘reasonable request’, demands Harvard disclose names & countries of foreign students | World News
US President Donald Trump has once again targeted Harvard University, raising questions about its significant international student population and demanding that the institution disclose the nationalities of these students.
Posting on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote this morning, “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! 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.”
Trump’s remarks come in the wake of a federal judge’s decision on Friday that blocked the Trump adminration’s attempt to bar international students from studying at Harvard. The ruling, delivered US Drict Judge Allison D Burroughs in Boston, issued a temporary restraining order against the adminration’s policy. Judge Burroughs agreed with Harvard’s argument that the measure would cause “immediate and irreparable injury” to the university.
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Harvard had sued the Trump adminration earlier on Friday morning, labeling the policy a “blatant violation” of the US Constitution and federal law. The university said in its lawsuit that excluding international students would have an “immediate and devastating effect” on both Harvard and the thousands of visa holders enrolled there.
In a statement, Harvard declared, “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”
In a letter to the Harvard community, Dr. Alan M Garber, the university’s president, condemned the adminration’s move as an “unlawful and unwarranted action” that “imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams.”
The move the Trump adminration was widely seen as part of a broader effort to pressure universities and other institutions that prize independence from partisan politics.Story continues below this ad
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson defended the adminration’s position, stating, “unelected judges have no right to stop the Trump Adminration from exercising their rightful control over immigration policy and national security policy.”
Although Harvard has succeeded in temporarily blocking the federal edict, the White House may still appeal the decision. Harvard enrolls nearly 6,800 international students, accounting for about 27 per cent of its student body.
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