Washington DC: Following the Donald Trump administration's decision to bar Harvard University from enrolling international students, US Congressman Ro Khanna criticised the move and challenged prominent tech figures including Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, David Sacks, Chamath Palihapitiya, Vinod Khosla, and Reid Hoffman to defend the ban, stating that it cannot be justified on merit.
Sharing a post on X, Khanna said, "Anyone from Silicon Valley willing to speak out against the Trump @JDVance ban on current and future international students at Harvard? I know @elonmusk, @DavidSacks, @pmarca, @chamath, @vkhosla, @reidhoffman that there is not a single tech leader who can defend this on the merits."
Following Trump's order, Harvard University condemned the decision as unlawful and unwarranted and said that the decision "imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars."
The university has filed a legal complaint and announced plans to seek a temporary restraining order as it pursues all available remedies.
In a statement released on Friday, the Office of the President of the Harvard University said, "Yesterday, the federal government announced that it has revoked Harvard's certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and stripped the University of its authority to sponsor F- and J- visas for international students and scholars for the 2025-26 academic year. The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government's illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body."
Reassuring its international community, Harvard emphasised its commitment to defending academic freedom and pledged support to those impacted by the decision.
It added, "We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action. It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams. We have just filed a complaint, and a motion for a temporary restraining order will follow. As we pursue legal remedies, we will do everything in our power to support our students and scholars. The Harvard International Office will provide periodic updates as new information becomes available."
Earlier on Thursday, the White House said, "Enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right." It accused Harvard leadership of turning "their once-great institution into a hot-bed of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators."
In a statement to CNN, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, "They have repeatedly failed to take action to address the widespread problems negatively impacting American students and now they must face the consequences of their actions."
Harvard and the Trump administration have been engaged in a conflict for months as the administration demands the university make changes to the programming of the institution, hiring and administration to remove on-campus antisemitism and remove what it termed "racist 'diversity, equity and inclusion' practices." The administration has targeted foreign students and employees, whom it believes were part of the contentious campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
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