Singaporeans at Harvard face uncertainty after Trump blocks international students

SINGAPORE: Singaporean students enrolled at Harvard are grappling with confusion and anxiety following the Trump administration's move to revoke the university's ability to enrol international students. 

Under a directive announced on Thursday (May 22), Harvard will no longer be allowed to enrol foreign students for the 2025-2026 academic year. Existing international students must either transfer to other schools or risk losing their legal status in the US.

Around 6,800 international students – including 151 Singaporeans – are enrolled in Harvard's current academic year, making up 27 per cent of its total enrolment, according to university statistics.

Tensions between Trump officials and Harvard had been building for months over demands that the university submit conduct records about foreign students, as well as change its admissions and hiring practices to combat antisemitism on campus.

Students who spoke to CNA requested anonymity due to fears that their visas might be revoked. 

James, a final-year undergraduate, told CNA he first learnt of the directive through news reports, not from the university. The school has been “radio silent”, with no official advice sent out to the student body yet. 

Adding that the Trump administration has been “getting very unpredictable”, he said: “We're sort of a little confused, but at this point, I frankly don't think everyone's surprised." 

Those who are still midway through their education at Harvard probably feel more anxious, as it remains unclear whether international students will be allowed to return in the fall semester, James said. 

The Public Service Division told CNA that there are 12 Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship holders currently enrolled in Harvard.

The PSC scholarship is widely regarded as one of Singapore’s most prestigious government scholarships.

The division is in touch with them and has reached out to the relevant officials, said its spokesperson.

"As for new scholars, we will discuss their study plans with them and give them the support they need, as we regularly do," the spokesperson said in a statement on Friday.

Four universities, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Technology and Design and the Singapore Institute of Technology, told CNA that none of their students have been affected.

Some NTU students have applied for an upcoming Harvard summer school programme, and the university is extending its support to them, the university's spokesperson said.

CNA has contacted Singapore's Education and Foreign Affairs ministries, as well as other local universities that may have students on exchange programmes in the US, for comment. 

VISAS POSSIBLY REVOKED, BARRING RE-ENTRY

Most Harvard students completed their semester last week, and many international students have returned to their home countries for the summer holidays. 

Possibly being unable to re-enter the US is a “huge concern” for many international students, and the consequences of the new measures will probably become clear only in the next few weeks, James said. 

The timing is “not too bad” for him since he is graduating, but he felt sorry for students who were meant to start school or return next semester. 

“The sentiment here is one of prevailing uncertainty. I wouldn't say fear and anxiety, but definitely uncertainty. And that is very paralysing in a way for a lot of people to make plans or even consider internships,” he told CNA. 

For graduating students, the main concern is whether the sponsorships for them to look for jobs or internships after the end of this term will remain valid, as these are tied to their documentation as international students from Harvard. 

"It's quite unsettling. We're just waiting and seeing now,” James said. 

A third-year undergraduate, who wanted to be known as Chris, said some international students had already adjusted their summer plans when the Department of Homeland Security's first letter to Harvard was released in late April, opting to remain in the US instead of leaving the country. 

"But now it seems people have questions about the validity of their stay in the US given that it seems our visas could be revoked if we don't transfer to another school," he told CNA, adding that students are waiting to hear from the Harvard International Office about the immediate legal ramifications of the measures. 

He found out about the news when an American classmate called him to check in on him. "I was definitely shocked hearing it." 

Chris has left the US for now because he is pursuing a summer internship overseas. He plans to return to continue his studies after the internship ends, so he will "have to see how this situation pans out". 

Johannes, a graduate student who returned to Singapore after finishing his final exams, also said he is waiting to see what he can do about the situation. 

When the conflict between the Trump administration and Harvard picked up traction about a month ago, his professors told him to be more careful, warning him that if he leaves the US, he may not be able to come back. 

At the time, the atmosphere on campus was “already a little down”. Students were upset and anxious, as they waited to see what the Trump administration would do and how Harvard would respond. 

Thursday’s news came as “quite a shock” to him. “I couldn't believe what I was hearing," Johannes said. 

He and other international students are trying their best not to "fall into hysteria" and take a "prudent, measured approach" while waiting for Harvard’s reaction and advice to students. 

His return flight is booked, but the next semester starts in September, he said, adding that he has time to wait for the situation to settle. 

SETTING A PRECEDENT FOR FUTURE IVY LEAGUE HOPEFULS

All three students CNA spoke to said they are expecting updates from the university in the next 48 to 72 hours. Earlier in May, Harvard said it would allow incoming international students to accept admission to both Harvard and a second, non-American institution.

The email sent to students by the Harvard College Admissions and Financial Aid Office acknowledged at the time that international students may want a “backup plan” as the Trump administration moved to block Harvard’s authorisation to host them, the university’s campus newspaper reported.

Trump’s move on Thursday could significantly affect the university, which enrolled nearly 6,800 international students this academic year. Other universities could also be in the firing line.

His administration has been pressuring elite universities across the US as part of a broader political strategy to reshape academia’s race-based admissions and its perceived liberal bias. 

Harvard is America's oldest and wealthiest university, and was the first elite college to push back against Trump's demands.

This triggered a series of escalatory actions in April, including the termination of grants and federal funding to the university. Harvard sued to end the grant freeze.

On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the department to terminate Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification effective for the 2025-2026 school year.

This means Harvard can no longer enrol foreign students, and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status.

The current “unprecedented situation” feels like the COVID-19 pandemic all over again, said Johannes, adding that he was curious to see if the university has any “concrete measures or policies” for students who may not be able to enter the country. 

“Your life is disrupted by a major event that you kind of have no control over,” he said. 

When asked whether this incident could affect international and Singaporean students’ inclination to further their studies in the US, both students agreed that it might no longer be as appealing. 

Studying in the US is “quite unaffordable”, said James, adding that the uncertainty also makes it difficult to plan your life around pursuing an education there. 

“I think that the financial sacrifice needed to study in the US will no longer be as appealing just because you don’t have that certainty of what the value of that education would be anymore,” he added. 

This event will definitely set a precedent, and universities in the US may be less inclined to accept foreign students, given that there are now more perceived hoops to jump through, said Johannes. 

The attractiveness of the US has “taken kind of a dip” in recent years, he added, noting that Singaporean students’ and their parents’ perceptions of the country are likely to have been affected. 

“It does seem like there’s an increasing amount of trepidation or worry that actually you can wake up one morning and be unsure about what to do in terms of our immediate future.”