South Asian student group condemns Trump administration’s decision to revoke Harvards eligibility to enrol foreign students

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. Karnataka Today Your daily dose of news highlights from Karnataka First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Currently, Harvard hosts a total of about 10,158 students and scholars from around the world across its schools. | Photo: REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi/File Photo A South Asian student group at Harvard has “strongly condemned” the Trump administration's decision to revoke the university’s eligibility to enrol foreign students, terming it an “unwarranted and flagrant attack” and calling on varsity's administration to maintain steadfast support for its international student community. On Thursday, the Trump administration ordered the Department of Homeland Security to terminate Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP) certification. “This means Harvard can no longer enrol foreign students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status,” the federal agency said. The Harvard South Asian Association (SAA) said it “strongly condemns" the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's recent decision to revoke Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP) certification, barring future enrollment of international students and forcing current international students to transfer. “Amid this unwarranted and flagrant attack,” SAA expressed its “unwavering support for our international community.  SAA called on Harvard’s administration, faculty and students to maintain “steadfast support for its international student body in these turbulent times. To all international students: you belong at Harvard and we will stand for you.” The organisation said in a post on Instagram, “We stand with our South Asian peers and community members who have been adversely impacted.” It added that international students bring integral and immeasurable value to both SAA and the entire Harvard community. “If this decision by the current federal administration is actualised, Harvard will lose some of its greatest minds and kindest souls, and SAA will irrevocably lose its community,” it added. Founded in 1986, SAA is one of the largest and most active student groups on campus with hundreds of members. It was built as a communal space for South Asians of all backgrounds, “most importantly, immigrants, international students and first-generation Americans.  Our members come from nations across the entire South Asian diaspora, and we strive to affirm their belonging and importance on campus," it said. Currently, Harvard hosts a total of about 10,158 students and scholars from around the world across its schools. According to statistics on the website of Harvard International Office, there are 788 students and scholars from India at all schools under Harvard University for the 2024-25 academic year. education / India-United States / Donald Trump / study abroad / higher education Terms & conditions  |  Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.