Trump Restricts Legal Immigration, Blocks Student Visas For Harvard

In two new presidential proclamations, Donald Trump restricted legal immigration to the United States and blocked visas for international students who want to attend Harvard University. The proclamation bans immigration to the United States, with some exceptions, from 19 countries. Lawful permanent residents sponsoring family members will be most affected. The measure will reduce legal immigrant admissions and lower the number of visas issued for tourists, students and exchange visitors from the identified countries. The action against Harvard represents another blow to the university and international students seeking to enroll at the school.

Immigration Order Restricts Legal Immigration From 19 Countries

On June 4, 2025, Donald Trump issued a proclamation banning immigrant and temporary visas from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The proclamation also bans immigrant visas and visas for tourists and business travelers, students and exchange visitors for an additional seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

The proclamation contains an exception for the spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens, known as immediate relatives, which limits the personal impact for many Americans. Among the other exemptions are for adoptions, Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans, visas for most athletes and “immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran.” These exceptions will not help most people who previously could have entered the country on temporary visas from the 19 countries or through other immigration categories.

While the Trump administration framed the proclamation as necessary for national security, it did not offer evidence that the travel ban enacted in Donald Trump’s first term enhanced security or that the Biden administration removing the travel ban diminished America’s security. Analysts noted the proclamation suspending refugee admissions was also framed as a security measure, even though refugees are the most vetted and screened individuals to enter the United States.

Less Legal Immigration And Fewer Temporary Visas From 19 Countries

According to a National Foundation for American Policy analysis, the proclamation will likely block approximately 25,000 legal immigrants a year from the 19 countries. Family-sponsored immigrants will be the most affected by the proclamation, with the burden falling primarily on lawful permanent residents in the United States who sponsor close family members, particularly from Cuba, Haiti, Iran and Yemen.

A lawful permanent resident can sponsor a spouse, minor child or an unmarried adult child. Employment-based immigrants from the 19 countries unable to adjust status inside the United States will also be prevented from immigrating. Individuals from the 19 countries will not be allowed to immigrate via the Diversity Visa lottery.

Based on FY 2023 data, approximately 100,000 fewer B1/B2 visas for tourism or business, 10,000 F-1 student visas and 2,400 J-1 visas for nationals of the 19 countries will be issued annually due to the proclamation, according to an NFAP analysis. The proclamation would prevent growth in those numbers. The ban applies to visas to enter rather than people already inside the country, unless they leave and need a new visa to reenter.

Use Of Overstay Report In Immigration Proclamation

The administration sought to justify the bans on student and other visas by citing figures from the DHS annual overstay report. However, analysts note the DHS reports do not accurately measure overstays. “The DHS figures represent actual overstays plus arrivals whose departure could not be verified,” according to demographer Robert Warren. In other words, the report includes many unrecorded departures that may not be actual overstays.

DHS has problems with its systems correctly identifying individuals who changed status inside the U.S. or left the country, which renders its reports inappropriate for policy purposes. That is particularly the case with students, and it’s a long-standing problem. The “suspected in-country overstay” rate for student and exchange visitors in FY 2018 dropped by 60% over the course of a year, from 2.11% to 0.84% 12 months later, according to DHS, as the agency’s systems caught up.

The problem is most evident when a student obtains a different immigration status, such as a green card, and the student is withdrawn from the SEVIS system. In March 2025, when DHS arrested a pro-Palestinian protest leader, Mahmoud Khalil, agents thought he was on a student visa even though Khalil was married to a U.S. citizen and had been a lawful permanent resident for months.

The proclamation selectively cites overstay data. It omits Venezuela’s low overstay rate of 2.7% for F-1 student and exchange visitor visas. Iran’s low rate for F-1 student and exchange visitor visas is also not listed in the proclamation.

The proclamation criticizes Haiti, Venezuela and Afghanistan for lacking a reliable or functioning government even though the Trump administration terminated Temporary Protected Status for the three countries and claimed it is safe for Haitians, Venezuelans and Afghans to return.

Separate Immigration Order Blocks Harvard International Students

In a separate, unprecedented proclamation issued on June 4, 2025, Donald Trump banned foreign nationals from coming to the United States to attend Harvard University. Presidential authority on immigration has never before been wielded in this way against a single educational institution.

“The entry of any alien into the United States as a nonimmigrant to pursue a course of study at Harvard University . . . [with an F or M visa] or to participate in a [J-1] exchange visitor program hosted by Harvard University is suspended,” according to the proclamation. The proclamation, which lasts six months, though it could be extended, “shall apply to aliens who enter or attempt to enter the United States to begin attending Harvard University through the SEVP [Student and Exchange Visitor Program] after the date of this proclamation.”

The Trump administration has engaged in a months-long battle with Harvard after the university refused demands for the federal government to take over the school’s hiring, admissions and governance policies. In retaliation, the Department of Homeland Security removed Harvard’s ability to enroll international students through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. A federal judge blocked the Trump administration and will need to decide the legality of attempting to accomplish the same goal via a presidential proclamation.

“They first tried to suspend SEVP and that failed, so now they are using an unsubstantiated threat to national security to halt the issuance of visas,” said Jonathan Grode of Green & Spiegel. “So, it is like, if we cannot stop you from issuing I-20s to students, then we will stop the State Department from issuing them visas.”

Attorneys and educators expect the latest administration move to have a further chilling effect on international students seeking to attend U.S. universities.

Although the latest salvo against Harvard may have multiple objectives, the travel ban proclamation has one primary goal. The Trump administration wants to admit fewer immigrants and temporary visa holders to the United States from the 19 countries listed in the proclamation.