Oliver Towfigh Nia
23 May 2025•Update: 23 May 2025
BERLIN
Germany on Friday condemned the decision by US President Donald Trump to stop Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students.
"Restrictions on academic freedom are restrictions on democracy itself," Sebastian Hille, a government spokesman, said at a press briefing in Berlin.
Scientific exchange and freedom of research are among the cornerstones of a liberal constitutional state, he added.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christian Wagner said his country would ensure that the concerns of German students are adequately addressed.
"We view this as an urgent matter," the spokesman said. Regarding the consequences for the residency status of the affected students from Germany, he added, the implications of the Department of Homeland Security's decision are "not yet clear."
On Thursday, the Trump administration halted Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
"I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked," Noem said in a letter she shared on X.
Noem said the Trump administration is holding Harvard accountable for "fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus."
"It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused.
"They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law," she wrote on X.
Harvard spokesman Jason Newton called the government's action "unlawful."
"We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University – and this nation – immeasurably," Newton said in a statement.
Stressing that the university is working "quickly" to provide guidance to the campus community, he said: "This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission."
Health and Human Services (HHS) said Monday it is terminating $60 million in federal grants to Harvard.
The Trump administration has already frozen more than $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard and $60 million in contracts.
Harvard has sued the administration in response, alleging that the funding freeze violates the First Amendment and federal law, which bars the president from directly or indirectly ordering the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to conduct or terminate an audit or investigation.
Harvard President Alan Garber announced last week that the university will use $250 million of its own funds to support research.
The Trump administration has threatened to freeze federal funding for many universities, including Harvard, citing campus protests in support of Palestine and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
