Trump Crackdown on Student Visas Undermines US Soft Power

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The Trump administration has informed Harvard University that it is revoking the school's eligibility to host international students on visas.

A standoff between Harvard and the administration began with protests against Israel over fighting in the Palestinian-controlled territory of Gaza. Erupting at prestigious universities around the country, acts of anti-Semitism thereafter spread on campus, including at Harvard.

The Department of Homeland Security claims the university's inappropriate response to the campus protests encouraged anti-Semitism. It also contends that many of the instigators of the demonstrations were international students.

Some of the protests were excessive. Moreover, some Jewish students were intimidated by the protesters. Nevertheless, it is wrong for the federal government to take measures that punish all international students. The ban on Harvard accepting foreign students should be rescinded.

Harvard University has argued that the revocation of its ability to accept international students is unconstitutional. A federal district court granted a reprieve on May 29, giving Harvard 30 days to prove it meets the legal requirements to host international students. Nevertheless, the administration is taking an increasingly confrontational stance. It has even ordered the termination of research and other contracts that government agencies had signed with the university.

Security Concerns and CCP Ties

The Department of Homeland Security is also concerned about Harvard's alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already announced plans to revoke the visas of Chinese students with ties to the CCP.

Many children of top CCP officials, including President Xi Jinping's daughter, have been accepted by Harvard. Furthermore, federally funded research programs often allow access to sensitive information. Congress and successive administrations have also raised security concerns over the leaking of sensitive information by researchers. University administrators have a responsibility to provide explanations about questions like these that have been raised.

*Demonstrators call for resistance to the government efforts to curb abuses at universities, at a park near the Harvard University campus on May 12, 2025. (©Reuters)*

Nonetheless, the real aim appears to be to weaken the prestigious university, which President Donald Trump views as an "ivory tower bastion of liberal elites." If so, this would be a case of a self-inflicted wound on the part of the US. It undermines the superpower's soft power, which up to now, has attracted knowledge from throughout the world.

A Warning to All Academic Institutions

The Trump administration itself refers to its assault on Harvard as a "warning to all universities and academic institutions." It has also ordered a temporary pause on visa interview appointments for international students hoping to study in the US.

America has long attracted talented individuals who dream of success, and researchers oppressed by authoritarian regimes in their homelands. It has provided them opportunities that, more than anything else, provided the foundation for US global superiority, including in the military and economic domains.

*Protesters are arrested at Columbia University in New York. May 7, 2025 (©Reuters)*

Freezing funding for Harvard has brought research in many fields to a halt. Unfortunately, the competition to recruit talented individuals will lead to a brain drain, which will also intensify.

Currently, 260 Japanese students and researchers are studying at Harvard.

National interests and academic security deserve to be taken into account when accepting international students and researchers. Japan, too, should prioritize its national interests. Nevertheless, at the same time, international students and researchers should be recognized as important academic assets.