Trump demands 'names and countries' of Harvard's foreign students

SAN FRANCISCO -- US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he wants the "names and countries" of every international student enrolled at Harvard University.

The demand came just days after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students.

"We want to know who those foreign students are, a reasonable request since we give Harvard BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but Harvard isn't exactly forthcoming," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "We want those names and countries."

"Why isn't Harvard saying that almost 31 percent of their students are from FOREIGN LANDS, and yet those countries, some not at all friendly to the United States, pay NOTHING toward their student's education, nor do they ever intend to," Trump wrote on Sunday. "Nobody told us that!"

Trump also called on the Ivy League institution to stop applying for further federal funding.

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would revoke Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, effectively prohibiting the university from admitting international students. All current international students would need to transfer to another university or lose their legal status.

Harvard then promptly filed a lawsuit against the administration, and a federal judge in Massachusetts on Friday issued a temporary restraining order preventing the government from enforcing the ban pending a full hearing.

Harvard's data indicate that, as of the fall 2023 semester, international students comprised more than 27 percent of its total enrollment. The university currently enrolls nearly 6,800 international students and scholars from more than 140 countries and regions, the majority of whom are pursuing graduate-level study.

International students represent a significant source of revenue for US higher education institutions.