Harvard Resists Overseas Campus as Response to Trump’s Foreign‑Student Ban
CAMBRIDGE, MA — June 11, 2025 Harvard University has chosen not to establish an overseas campus as a workaround to the Trump administration’s executive order barring most new international students from entering the U.S. to attend the institution—a measure rooted in national‑security concerns and part of a broader federal campaign targeting elite universities.
Harvard president Alan Garber had described the ban as “retaliatory” and filed suit against the government. A federal judge temporarily blocked implementation just days after the June 4 proclamation, extending relief through mid‑June. Nonetheless, thousands of international students, many already admitted for the fall, face uncertain futures.
Rather than pivoting abroad, Harvard remains focused on legal strategy and contingency measures to support its international community. The university continues to engage with federal observers, including the Department of Homeland Security, to supply student‑misconduct data and demonstrate compliance.
Harvard, where nearly 27% of students are international, is also contesting prior actions: the revocation of its SEVP certification, billions in frozen federal research funding, and threats to its accreditation and tax‑exempt status . These cumulative restrictions reflect a politically charged approach in reshaping higher education under Trump’s second-term agenda.
Harvard’s stance highlights its commitment to its core U.S. campus and a willingness to lean on the courts rather than relocate operations overseas. The dispute draws attention to rising national‑security justifications for immigration limits and their influence on academic communities, prompting broader debate on U.S. higher education’s global role amidst geopolitical tensions.