United States President Donald Trump doubled down on his attack on Harvard University while defending his administration’s move to block its ability to enrol international students.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, claimed almost 31 per cent of students studying at Harvard are from foreign countries and the university administration is not forthcoming with details on these students despite repeated requests from his administration.

His fresh attack comes after a judge suspended his administration’s action.

“Why isn’t Harvard saying that almost 31% of their students are from FOREIGN LANDS, and yet those countries, some not at all friendly to the United States, pay NOTHING toward their student’s education, nor do they ever intend to. Nobody told us that!”, he wrote.

Trump added, “We want to know who those foreign students are, a reasonable request since we give Harvard BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but Harvard isn’t exactly forthcoming. We want those names and countries. Harvard has $52,000,000, use it, and stop asking for the Federal Government to continue GRANTING money to you!”

On Friday, a US judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University’s ability to enrol foreign students, a move that ratcheted up White House efforts to conform practices in academia to President Donald Trump’s policies.

In a complaint filed in Boston federal court earlier on Friday, Harvard called the revocation a “blatant violation” of the US Constitution and other federal laws, and had an “immediate and devastating effect” on the university and more than 7,000 visa holders.

“With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the university and its mission,” Harvard said.

Earlier, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem informed Harvard that its Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification was “revoked effective immediately.”

“I am writing to inform you that, effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked,” the letter read.

In a social media post she blamed Harvard for, “holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.”

The university filed a lawsuit last month against the administration over attempts to alter its curriculum, admissions procedures, and hiring policies.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Two US credit rating agencies have become embroiled in a rare public dispute over the reliability of scores for insurance companies’ growing stash of private credit investments.

The dispute involves a study, since withdrawn by its publisher, purporting to find that small credit rating agencies assign more generous scores to private credit investments than the larger and more established ones. Kroll Bond Rating Agency has accused Fitch Ratings of misleading market participants by relying on the study to raise doubts about the quality of its ratings.

Fitch on Monday published a report critical of Kroll and other groups, based on the 2024 study, issued by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

A Fitch spokesperson stood by its report, arguing the insurance commissioner’s group reached similar conclusions in prior studies. “If the (association) provides new information, we will update our analysis.”

The unusually overt quarrel highlights the intense competition in the fast-growing and lucrative $1.6tn private credit industry to carve out turf — not just among lenders, but among the groups paid to referee creditworthiness of the market’s opaque investment offerings.

“There’s a build-up of risk in the insurance industry and also potentially in the collateralised loan sector that is not being properly monitored,” said Ann Rutledge, a former senior Moody’s analyst and now chief executive of rating agency CreditSpectrum. “The opacity and the risk are both attributable to the fact that there are cracks in the foundation of the current SEC-regulated credit rating industry.”

Insurers and other investors use the types of ratings in question, known as private letter ratings, when no public ratings are available. Larger ratings firms historically have eschewed issuing these types of scores for private credit products, leaving the market dominated by smaller agencies.

Private letter investments were “inherently more risky given the lack of transparency and potential ratings inflation”, analysts at JPMorgan said in a recent note, adding “there is an inherent challenge in assessing credit quality from the outside as no part of the process, analysis, or information is transparent from the outside”.

Kroll, which was among the first to challenge the establishment credit agencies with its launch after the global financial crisis, said it was troubled by its larger rival’s boosting of “statistically unsound” research. It said Fitch’s criticism appeared geared towards supporting its own grab for dominance.

“In seeking relevance to increase its market share in private credit, Fitch appears to have undercut two foundational principles for any rating agency — integrity and analytical rigour,” Kroll said in a statement.

The study by the NAIC focused on the rise of private letter ratings for insurers’ private credit investments, which totalled about $350bn at the end of 2023.

It found confidentially-issued grades from smaller rating shops were more likely to deviate from scores by the association’s own securities valuation office and were notably higher on average. According to the original report, smaller groups such as Kroll tended to offer ratings three notches higher than the association’s internal score, while larger agencies such as Fitch offered ratings about two notches higher.

The study also showed that the number of privately rated securities held by US insurers grew from 2,850 in 2019 to 8,152 in 2023, and that the share of securities rated by small credit rating providers such as Egan-Jones, Kroll and Morningstar had grown to 86 per cent in 2023.

The report also noted that Fitch is the leading provider of private letter ratings among the big three US rating agencies, ahead of S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Ratings.

But earlier this month, the insurance association announced it was removing the report from its website “to undergo further editorial work to clarify the analysis presented”.

Without naming names, the insurance association said it would “evaluate how the information we provide to the public could be misconstrued or otherwise utilised in inappropriate ways”.

The NAIC declined a request for comment.

“Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”

That’s what the nation’s oldest and wealthiest private university in the U.S. said in its lawsuit against the Trump administration, which sought to prevent the elite institution from enrolling thousands of international students.

A judge quickly blocked the Trump administration’s effort on Friday, and issued a temporary restraining order. The ruling comes as the number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities reached a record high.

Here’s a look at the impact of international students, by the numbers:

1.1 million

In November, Open Doors® 2024 Report on International Educational Exchange announced that the total number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities reached an all-time high of more than 1.1 million students for the 2023 and 2024 year.

This represented a 7% increase from the previous academic year.

“The experience of studying in the United States not only shapes the lives of individuals, but the future of our interconnected world,” said Scott Weinhold, with the Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in a statement announcing the Open Door findings. “The ties formed between U.S. and international students today are the basis of relationships for future business and trade, science and innovation, and government relations.”

India sent the most international students to the U.S. for higher education with more than 331,000 students enrolled, according to the 2023-2024 data from Open Doors.

China followed as the second leading country of origin with more than 277,000 students, including nearly 123,000 graduate students, studying in the U.S. It’s the leading nation for sending undergraduates and non-degree students to the U.S. Combined, India and China account for more than half of all international students in the country.

$43.8 billion

International students contribute not only academic and athletic talent to their campuses but also billions of dollars in economic activity across the nation.

According to NAFSA: Association of International Educators, these 1.1 million international students at U.S. colleges and universities contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2023-2024 academic year and supported more than 378,000 jobs.

“International students’ contributions to the U.S. are significant and multi-faceted, and this year’s record-breaking economic total is the latest proof of that,” Fanta Aw, NAFSA executive director and CEO, said in a statement. “Yet we cannot be complacent. Meanwhile, competition for the world’s best and brightest is increasing.”

Aw urged the U.S. government to adopt politics that help attract and retain talent from overseas.

“We cannot afford to lose international students’ meaningful positive impact on American students’ global competence, our economies, and our communities, particularly in the areas of STEM-related research and innovation,” Aw said.

Students pose with a person dressed as Roar-ee the Lion mascot, before the Commencement Ceremony at Columbia University in New York on May 21.

JEENAH MOON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

hide caption

toggle caption

Advertisement

JEENAH MOON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

140 

Harvard relies on nearly 7,000 international students from more than 140 countries to come to its campuses. This is more than 25% of its total enrollment, according to 2024-2025 data from Harvard.

When including all of the scholars and researchers, the international population at Harvard exceeds 10,000.

In comparison, as of fall 2024, Yale University had 3,639 international scholars (including trainees, researchers, students and others) from 129 countries.

And Columbia University reported a total of 16,926 international students and scholars (including faculty and researchers) coming from 149 countries.

196

Students from other countries make a notable impact across on a various sports and fields.

Harvard has 42 varsity sports teams, and for the 2024-2025 rosters, about 21% of the athletes — approximately 196 out of 919 — are from abroad, Sportico reported last month.

The Yale Bulldogs mascot looks on during a game against the Harvard Crimson at Fenway Park on November 17, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Adam Glanzman/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

hide caption

Advertisement

toggle caption

Adam Glanzman/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

70

Harvard has hosted international students under the F-1 visa program for 70 consecutive years, the university said in its federal lawsuit against the Trump administration. This program, provided by the U.S. government under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, allows international students to pursue their education at Harvard. The university has also long been designated as an exchange program sponsor to host J-1 nonimmigrants. Both programs allowed students from other countries to get an education at Harvard.

And Harvard is not unique. Thousands of high schools, colleges and universities have similarly hosted international students through these visa programs.