Trump's ban on international students 'extremely disruptive': Harvard PhD candidate

Taipei, May 29 (CNA) A Taiwanese doctoral student in the United States said that the government's order last week to pause the enrollment of international students at Harvard University has upended his life.

Wayne Chan (詹偉平), a PhD student in Harvard's Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, told CNA that, contrary to popular belief, the order does not affect only potential international students but also those currently holding exchange visitor visas and academic F-1 visas.

"This includes those who earned bachelor's or master's degrees after 2024, and PhDs after 2023," who are on optional practical training or academic training after graduation, he said.

It also affects "a wide range of international scholars on J visas, such as postdoctoral researchers and exchange visitors," Chan said in an email interview with CNA.

He was referring to an order issued last week by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, blocking Harvard University from enrolling new international students.

The order, issued on May 22, revoked Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, after the university refused to comply with the administration's demand that it provide detailed records of its student body, as part of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security.

The investigation followed accusations by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that the private university "has created an unsafe campus environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals, including many Jewish students, and otherwise obstruct its once-venerable learning environment."

In a release, the department quoted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as saying, "This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus."

The order was temporarily suspended after Harvard filed a lawsuit against the administration. Last week, Boston Judge Allison Burroughs issued a restraining order blocking the Trump administration's move to strip Harvard of its ability to enroll foreign students.

The judge said the restraining order was based on the grounds that the university "will sustain immediate and irreparable injury before there is an opportunity to hear from all parties."

According to Chan, however, some damage has already been done, due to uncertainties over the university's Student and Exchange Visitor Program and the status of current student visas holders.

"It's hard to have confidence that this temporary block is the end of it," Chan said. "No one knows what new challenges we may face next."

He said the uncertainty has been "extremely disruptive" not just for him but also for his family.

"Imagine being told you need to move your entire family to another country, like Japan, within a month -- that's the kind of stress many of us are under," Chan said. "I haven't been able to concentrate on my work because I've had to spend time creating contingency plans for myself and my family," he said.

On the question of whether he had witnessed any acts of antisemitism or coordination with the CCP, Chan said he had not.

However, there has been "a lot of financial support from China," Chan said without elaborating.

"While there are many Chinese students, most of those I know are not supportive of the CCP, though they often avoid expressing this publicly," he added.

Chan said that people at Harvard usually speak out on a wide range of issues, including the Israel-Palestine conflict, but some refrain from publicly expressing their views on certain issues.

"For international scholars, participating in protests is a deeply personal and complicated decision," he said. "Some feel it's their responsibility as a human; others worry about creating conflict in their host country."

As a foreigner, Chan said, it is not his place to speculate on the political motivations behind the U.S. government's move to bar Harvard from enrolling international students and its decision to also take aim at other universities.

"Perhaps these moves are intended to protect national security," Chan said. "But in actual fact, they've created chaos and instability in daily life -- so much so that they're pushing many of us to consider leaving the U.S."