Canadian Harvard students grapple with Trump's attempt to bar foreign students

Natalie Stechyson · CBC News

· Posted: May 23, 2025 2:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 23

Meghana Sanagaram was celebrating her grades for the outpouring semester of her postgraduate programme astatine Harvard University connected Wednesday.

By Thursday, she was nary longer definite astir the aboriginal of her grade astatine all.

"It is disheartening to internalize that each those evenings and nights I stayed up moving for those grades, portion being a mom, among different things, whitethorn person been for thing — and not due to the fact that of thing I did," Sanagaram, 32, who lives successful Whitehorse, told CBC News.

The Trump medication dealt a large stroke Thursday by announcing it was revoking Harvard University's quality to enrol international students like Sanagaram.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the section to terminate the Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, effectual for the 2025-26 schoolhouse year, the section said successful a statement. It's besides forcing existing students to transportation to different schools oregon suffer their ineligible status.

The determination also strips the assemblage of its authorization to sponsor F- and J- visas for planetary students and scholars for the 2025-26 world year, Harvard noted successful an online statement.

The move was a effect to Harvard's refusal to supply accusation it sought astir overseas pupil visa holders and could beryllium reversed if the assemblage relents, the Trump medication has said. Harvard is suing, calling the revocation a "blatant violation" of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment and different national laws successful a ailment filed successful Boston national tribunal Friday.

Later connected Friday, a judge issued a temporary restraining bid freezing the policy. But the Trump medication tin entreaty the ruling.

And for now, disorder abounds implicit what this means for the thousands of planetary students — including Canadians — enrolled astatine the prestigious Ivy League schoolhouse successful Cambridge, Mass.

Sanagaram says Thursday's announcement from the Trump medication feels misguided and unsettling fixed that planetary students are successful the U.S. legally, lend importantly to the U.S. economy, and "add immense worth to world institutions."

"[It] felt similar a governmental warpath with small respect for what that meant to thousands of students, their dreams, their investment, and successful galore cases, years of life's work," she said.

Canada has largest stock of planetary Harvard undergrads

Harvard enrols astir 6,800 overseas students astatine its field successful Cambridge. Most are postgraduate students and they travel from much than 100 countries.

The largest share, 1,390 students, travel from China, according to Harvard's enrolment factbook. But Canada isn't far behind, successful 2nd spot with 751 students enrolled successful 2024. And erstwhile it comes to undergraduates alone, the largest proportionality of planetary students travel from Canada by far.

The largest stock of students (176) were enrolled astatine Harvard College for an undergraduate degree, followed by 139 enrolled successful the Graduate School of Arts and Science, and 132 students enrolled successful hold programs for big learners.

The remainder were dispersed betwixt Harvard's assorted nonrecreational programs, specified arsenic its business, medical, nationalist wellness and instrumentality schools.

Many satellite leaders and their children person attended oregon are attending the Ivy League school, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. His daughter is besides reportedly a existent student.

While we don't cognize however galore caller students accepted for studies successful 2025 could beryllium affected, past year, 18 per cent of new admissions into the undergraduate program were planetary students.

'A generational disruption'

And by now, galore of those Grade 12 students who received admittance letters person already accepted and started making plans, said Connor Bitter, who graduated from Harvard successful 2018 and present works arsenic an education consultant to assistance different students use to elite planetary universities.

"This is much than a argumentation change. This is, for a batch of the students I enactment with, genuinely a generational disruption," Bitter told CBC News from Toronto.

Many of the students helium works with travel from families who person enactment a important concern into the acquisition of their children, Bitter said. And the students person made a important clip concern themselves, moving toward the extremity of getting into Harvard for years.

Even conscionable applying is simply a "full-time occupation investment" successful the fall, helium added. And now, to find retired that doorway has perchance closed?

"It is the astir devastating quality that a Grade 12 who has worked their full beingness to get into Harvard tin receive."

WATCH | Canadian Harvard pupil unsure however to get backmost into U.S.: 

'Very overmuch successful trouble'

Marco Avina, a PhD candidate at Harvard, says his contiguous interest is however he's getting backmost into the U.S. astatine all. Avina, who is from Montreal, has been successful Croatia for the past 2 weeks connected abrogation and plans to re-enter done JFK airdrome connected June 1.

Typically helium would enter the United States arsenic a J-1 probe scholar, Avina said, but present he's not definite what to do.

"I don't cognize if my flat that I person successful Cambridge, if I volition person to vacate that and spell backmost to Montreal oregon if I tin expect to person an accommodation successful Cambridge for the agelong term," helium said successful a Zoom interview.

Avina says he's fortunate that at least his enactment won't beryllium lost, arsenic helium tin enactment connected his probe remotely.

"But ... determination are radical who are tied to Harvard in, successful much factual ways than I am. And those radical are precise overmuch successful occupation close now."

In a connection posted online Friday, Harvard president Alan Garber said Trump's action "imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars crossed Harvard and serves arsenic a informing to countless others astatine colleges and universities passim the state who person travel to America to prosecute their acquisition and fulfil their dreams."

Harvard volition proceed to enactment its planetary students arsenic it fights the decision, Garber added. 

WATCH | Trump revokes Harvard's quality to enrol planetary students: