(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said Harvard University should cap foreign student enrollment at 15%, ratcheting up his effort to force policy changes at the elite institution.
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“I think they should have a cap of maybe around 15%, not 31%,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House. “We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools, they can’t get in because we have foreign students there.”
Trump’s comments introduced a specific goal after he sought last week to block Harvard entirely from enrolling foreign students. It’s part of a broader push by his administration against Harvard and other academic institutions to force policy changes on everything from admissions to hiring, an effort officials have said is aimed at cracking down on antisemitism tied to protests against Israel’s war in Gaza.
Harvard has emerged as a prime target for Trump, whose administration has frozen more than $2.6 billion in federal research funding for the school. He’s also waging a campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and what conservatives say is left-wing bias on US college campuses.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based school didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s goal for foreign-student enrollment. Harvard has sued the government over the funding cuts, and the school won a temporary court order blocking the government from enforcing the ban on foreign students.
Earlier: Trump Escalates Higher Ed Fight With Review of Student Visas
At Harvard, nearly 6,800 students — 27% of the entire student body — come from other countries, up from about 20% in 2006, according to university data. Harvard has said its international population on campus is comprised of more than 10,000 people, which includes fellows or others coming for non-degree programs and their dependents.
“I want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country,” Trump said Wednesday.
Foreign students are a key source of revenue for US universities including Harvard since they mostly pay full tuition, although Harvard offers financial aid for international undergraduates.
The president has also repeatedly called for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, which would have serious financial implications for the university, even with a $53 billion endowment that makes it the richest US school. The administration is also moving to cancel all remaining federal contracts with the university.