On Wednesday, May 28, US President Donald Trump referred to international students as "troublemakers", and proposed a 15 per cent cap on the number of foreign students allowed at Harvard University and other American colleges and universities, reported NDTV World.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump expressed concerns about admitting what he described as "radical people" who might cause unrest in the country.
“We don’t want shopping centres to explode. We don’t want riots like the ones we’ve seen — and I’ll tell you, many of those students didn’t leave. A lot of them were troublemakers linked to the radical left,” Trump told reporters.
Criticising Harvard, Trump stated that the university would be required to provide the administration with a list of its international students.
"Harvard has to show us their lists. They have foreign students - almost 31 per cent of their students. We want to know where those students come from, whether they are troublemakers, and what countries they come from....These countries aren't helping us. They're not investing in Harvard ... we are. So why would 31 per cent - why would a number so big...I think they should have a cap of maybe around 15 per cent, not 31 per cent," he said.
He further stated that foreign students occupy the student bodies in universities and block the way for Americans to get a better education.
"We have people [who] want to go to Harvard and other schools, [but] they can't get in because we have foreign students there. But I want to make sure that the foreign students are people who can love our country."
The President also called the prestigious Ivy League institution a "disaster", and said students at the Ivy League institution are "totally anti-semitic"
"Harvard has been a disaster. They've taken $ 5 billion+... And by the way, they're totally anti-semitic at Harvard, and some other colleges too. It's been exposed, very exposed, and I think they're dealing very badly. Every time they fight, they lose another 250 million dollars... I think this is what everyone's coming up to me saying, we love the idea of trade schools with that kind of money and money from others, but money from them. You can have the best trade schools anywhere in the world... They can only be used for trade schools, and they'll teach people how to build AI," he said.
Since taking office in January, Republican President Donald Trump has pledged to implement a sweeping immigration crackdown. His administration has moved to revoke student visas and green cards from foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
He has also launched an aggressive campaign to overhaul private colleges and schools across the United States, accusing them of promoting anti-American, Marxist, and "radical left" ideologies.
