Washington: US President Donald Trump on Friday sought to calm concerns among Chinese international students in the United States, assuring them that they would be "fine" despite his administration’s growing scrutiny of foreign students in higher education.

The reassurance came after the administration announced this week that it would more closely examine permissions granted to Chinese students, marking the latest move in a series of actions targeting US academic institutions.

When asked what message he wished to convey to Chinese students currently studying in the US, Trump said, “They’re going to be OK. It’s going to work out fine.”

“We just want to check out the individual students we have. And that’s true with all colleges,” he told reporters.

Legal setbacks and continued tensions

The president’s comments followed a legal setback for the administration, as a judge on Thursday extended a temporary block on efforts to stop Harvard University from enrolling international students.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on Wednesday that the government would "aggressively" revoke visas issued to Chinese students. According to Rubio, thousands of visas have already been cancelled — not only over students’ involvement in activism critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, but also for relatively minor infractions such as traffic violations.

Pressure on Harvard

The administration’s tensions with academia, particularly with Harvard University, have continued to escalate. Officials have reportedly demanded a list of students of interest from the university — a request Harvard has refused.

“I don’t know why Harvard’s not giving us the list. There’s something going on because Harvard is not giving us a list,” Trump said on Friday.

“They ought to give us a list and get themselves out of trouble,” he added, suggesting that Harvard’s reluctance might stem from concerns over certain names included on the list. “They don’t want to give the list because they have names on there that supposedly are quite bad,” he said.

Universities push back

At recent graduation ceremonies, Harvard University President Alan Garber received a standing ovation after calling on academic institutions to remain steadfast in the face of the Trump administration’s actions against students and universities.

“We want people that can love our country and take care of our country and cherish our country,” Trump said during Friday’s press interaction.

International student demographics

International students account for just under six percent of the overall student population in the United States — a considerably lower proportion than in the United Kingdom, where international students make up around 25 percent of the university population.

AFP inputs