Donald Trump asks Harvard to cap foreign student enrollment at 15%

President Donald Trump said Harvard University should cap foreign student enrollment at 15 per cent, ratcheting up his effort to force policy changes at the elite institution. 

“I think they should have a cap of maybe around 15 per cent, not 31 per cent,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House. “We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools, they can’t get in because we have foreign students there.” 

Trump’s comments come as the administration pushes the school and other academic institutions to change many of their policies, an effort officials have said is aimed at cracking down on antisemitism tied to protests against the war in Gaza. 

Harvard has been front and center of that push. It’s also been wrapped up in the broader campaign Trump is waging against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and what conservatives say is left-wing bias on campuses. His administration has already moved to freeze Harvard’s funding and block its ability to enroll international students. 

Trump officials have demanded the university remake its governance, transform admissions and faculty hiring, and stop admitting international students that they say are hostile to American values.  

At Harvard nearly 6,800 students — 27 per cent of the entire student body — come from other countries, up from 19.6 per cent in 2006, according to university data. Harvard has said its international population on campus is comprised of more than 10,000 people, which includes fellows or others coming for non-degree programs and their dependents. 

“I want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country,” Trump said Wednesday. Trump’s battle with Harvard has intensified in recent weeks. Harvard has sued the government over funding cuts, and the school won a temporary court order blocking the government from enforcing the ban on foreign students. 

The president has also repeatedly called for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, which would have serious financial implications for the university, even with a $53 billion endowment that makes it the richest US school. The administration is also moving to cancel all remaining federal contracts with the university. 

Trump on Wednesday cast Harvard unfavorably with another Ivy League institution, Columbia University, which he said was working with him on “finding a solution.” 

“Harvard has to understand the last thing I want to do is hurt them. They’re hurting themselves. They’re fighting,” Trump said, adding Columbia has been “very, very bad — what they’ve done, they’re very antisemitic and lots of other things — but they’re working with us on finding a solution.” 

“But Harvard wants to fight, they want to show how smart they are, and they’re getting their ass kicked,” he continued.