Trump blocks new Harvard visas after $3 billion in frozen research funds

President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered a six-month halt on issuing new student visas to Harvard University students, declaring in a proclamation that he is “suspending the entry into the United States of any new Harvard student as a non-immigrant” for a period of six months because their presence “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”

The suspension specifically targets new applicants for F-1 (academic studies), M-1 (vocational/non-academic studies), and J-1 (exchange program) visas, effectively halting their ability to commence studies at Harvard during this period. The proclamation also directs the Secretary of State to consider revoking existing visas of current international students at Harvard who are enrolled on F-1, M-1, or J-1 visas.

The visa freeze marks the latest, and most personal, escalation in a two-month financial squeeze that has already placed roughly $3 billion in federal research grants and contracts on hold. In mid-April the administration froze $2.2 billion in multiyear science awards and canceled $2.7 million in DHS terrorism-prevention grants. The Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services have since moved to terminate $60 million in active contracts and moved to cancel or suspend another $700 million in federal funding, while Trump has said he’s considering giving the funds to trade schools.

Harvard also ranks No. 2 worldwide and No. 1 in the United States in the latest Nature Index of high-impact research output, underscoring how the freeze reaches deep into the nation’s R&D engine.

Trump’s order hits a campus where foreign nationals account for 27% of enrollment and contribute to hundreds of federally funded research projects. While the proclamation allows visas “whose entry is deemed in the national interest,” it puts nearly 6,800 international scholars in limbo.