S’pore monitoring impact of Trump administration’s ban on Harvard enrolling foreign students
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The Trump administration’s decision to terminate Harvard University’s right to host foreign nationals has left nearly 6,800 international students in the US in limbo.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SINGAPORE – Singapore is monitoring the impact on the academic prospects of Singaporean students after the Trump administration terminated Harvard University’s right to host and enrol foreign students and scholars, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on May 27.
The ban was announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on May 22 and has since left nearly 6,800 international students in the US in limbo. The students were given a choice to transfer schools or face deportation.
According to the Harvard International Office, there are currently 151 Singaporean scholars and students enrolled in the American university
On May 23, a US judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from revoking the school’s ability to enrol foreign students
The MFA said that the Singapore Embassy in Washington DC has engaged the US State Department and Department of Homeland Security. The ministry has also set up support structures for affected students, such as a group communication channel that is hosted by the MFA’s Consular Department and the Singapore Global Network.
Affected Singaporean students at Harvard may register themselves at to be added to the channel.
The Singapore Ambassador in Washington DC will be holding a virtual town hall with Singaporean students in Harvard at 5pm on May 30 (5am on May 31, Singapore time). Singaporean students at Harvard should remain in contact with the International Student Services of Harvard for updates, the ministry added.
A Singaporean student at Harvard Law School, who declined to be named, said he was heartened by the swift response of the Singapore Embassy in Washington DC.
US President Donald Trump’s move to ban international students from enrolling at Harvard was the latest in his feud with the university, which he claims has “failed to address anti-Semitism and ethnic harassment on campus”
Before this, almost US$3 billion (S$3.8 billion) in federal contracts and research grants to the university was also frozen.
It comes as the Republican President’s administration attempts to reshape American education. He has accused the country’s elite campuses of being gripped by anti-American, Marxist and leftist ideologies.
In 2024, US campuses were rocked by pro-Palestinian protests – and accompanying pro-Israel counter-protests – following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.
