Trump Says Other Countries ‘Pay NOTHING’ For Foreign Students To Attend Harvard

President Donald Trump lashed out at Harvard University on Sunday, ripping the elite institution for refusing to identify its foreign students while they benefit from taxpayer funding.

The Department of Homeland Security last week blocked Harvard from accepting any new foreign students as the administration and school tussle over antisemitism on campus. The university responded with a lawsuit.

“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!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

“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. Harvard has $52,000,000, use it, and stop asking for the Federal Government to continue GRANTING money to you!” he added.

Harvard enrolls about 6,800 foreign students, which make up over 27% of its student body, according to 2024-2025 data from the university.

Harvard sued the federal government over the freeze on foreign students on Friday, accusing the Trump administration of committing a “blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act.”

“It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the ‘ideology’ of its faculty and students,” the lawsuit says.

After weeks of threats from the Trump administration, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent a letter to Harvard on Thursday notifying the university that it had been stripped of its certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. The secretary said the university was in violation of reporting requirements after it refused a Trump administration request for information on students on visas who committed “illegal activity” or “dangerous or violent activity.”

“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” said Noem.

“Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law,” she added.