President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday, blocking nearly all foreign students from entering the country to attend Harvard University.
In the order, Trump said that the school was no longer a trustworthy steward of international students.
The move is the latest in a months-long feud between the Ivy League university and the Trump administration.
In April, Trump attempted numerous times to block Harvard’s billions of dollars in federal funding after claiming that the school “fundamentally failed to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment,” according to a Trump administration letter written to the school’s president.
In May, Harvard President Alan Garber refused to bow to the administration’s demands in a letter addressed to Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
“Harvard will not surrender its core, legally-protected principles out of fear of unfounded retaliation by the federal government,” Garber wrote.
Archon Fung, the director at Harvard’s Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, said he felt a flurry of emotions after hearing news of Trump’s executive order.
“When I first heard the news that Harvard wouldn’t be able to enroll international students, I felt confused and a little bit nervous,” Fung said.
Yonas Nuguse, a student in Ethiopia who endured the Tigray conflict, said winning admission to Harvard University fulfilled a longtime goal.
“The war affected me a great deal, and when I found out the news that I was accepted to Harvard, I was ecstatic. I knew it was a proud moment for my family, teachers, mentors and friends, who were instrumental in my achievement,” Nuguse said.
Now, he and other admitted students around the world are anxiously tracking the school’s feud with the Trump administration.
“I hope the situation is temporary and I can enroll on time to go on and realize my dream far from reality in Ethiopia,” Nuguse said.
Another Ethiopian student, Addis Ababa, was set to begin studying at Harvard in the fall, and also realizes that may no longer be the case.
“I hope it will be resolved, and hopefully, I will attend the college next fall,” Ababa said.
The executive director of the Harvard Square Business Association, Denise Jillson, said the order will have a profound impact on the community as well.
“When Harvard hurts, we all hurt, and when Harvard is successful, we’re all successful,” Jillson said. “When you think about the international students, and what they bring in terms of their cultures, their food, their language, the way they dress, their curiosity, that is as devastating to us as the economic impact.”
In a statement, Harvard said that the order is “yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights. Harvard will continue to protect its international students.”
The executive order came the same day as a travel ban, similar to a ban enacted during Trump’s first term.
The ban, which goes into effect Monday, will prevent citizens of 12 countries, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, from entering the United States.
Citizens from seven other countries, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, will face heightened restrictions.