US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday ordered a suspension of student visa processing in the latest swipe at foreign students in the country.
The White House is cracking down on foreign students at US universities, revoking visas and deporting those involved in protests against the war in Gaza, accusing them of supporting Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Rubio earlier rescinded hundreds of visas and President Donald Trump's administration moved to bar Harvard University from admitting non-Americans.
A cable signed by Rubio and seen by AFP orders embassies and consulates not to allow "any additional student or exchange visa... appointment capacity until further guidance is issued."
The government also plans to ramp up vetting of the social media profiles of international applicants to US universities, the cable said.
The move came as Harvard students protested after the government said it intends to cancel all remaining financial contracts with the elite school, Trump's latest attempt to force the institution to submit to unprecedented oversight.
Hundreds of students gathered to oppose Trump's widening offensive, including Tuesday's measures estimated to be worth $100 million, against the university that has drawn his ire for refusing to give up control of curriculum, admissions and research.
"Trump = traitor" read one student placard, while the crowd chanted "who belongs in class today, let them stay" in reference to Harvard's international students whose status Trump has upended by summarily revoking the university's accreditation to the country's Student and Exchange Visitor program.
A judge issued a restraining order pending a hearing on the matter scheduled for Thursday, the same day as the university's commencement graduation ceremony for which thousands of graduating students and their families had gathered in Cambridge, Massachusetts near Boston.
The White House meanwhile, doubled down in its offensive, saying that public money should go to vocational schools that train electricians and plumbers.
"The president is more interested in giving that taxpayer money to trade schools and programs and state schools where they are promoting American values, but most importantly, educating the next generation based on skills that we need in our economy and our society," Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Tuesday evening. "We need more of those in our country, and less LGBTQ graduate majors from Harvard University."
Tuesday's protest unfolded as news helicopters hovered overhead and graduating students in academic attire and their guests ate finger food at a reception on the lawns of Harvard Square nearby.
"All my international friends and peers and professors and researchers are at risk and (are) threatened with being deported -- or their option is to transfer" to another university, said Alice Goyer, who attended the protest wearing a black academic gown.
One history of medicine student from Britain graduating this week who gave his name only as Jack said that the policies pursued by Trump would make US universities less attractive to international students.
"I don't know if I'd pursue a PhD here, six years is a long time," he said.
Harvard itself has filed extensive legal challenges against Trump's measures, which legal experts say are likely to be overturned by the courts.
Separately, alumni plan to file a lawsuit against Trump on June 9, filmmaker Anurima Bhargava told a virtual meeting staged by Crimson Courage, a grassroots alumni group that held a mass webinar to raise awareness and a fighting fund from former students.
'American values'
The cutting of contracts announced Tuesday -- estimated by US media to be worth $100 million -- would mark the slashing of business ties between the government and the country's oldest university.
Amid a broad campaign against seats of learning that Trump accuses of being hotbeds of liberal bias and anti-Semitism, the president has singled out Harvard.
In the last few weeks, the elite educational and research powerhouse has seen billions of dollars in federal grants frozen and millions of dollars of federal contracts torn up.
The university has sued both to block the revocation of its right to recruit and sponsor foreign students, 27 percent of its total roll, as well as to overturn the withdrawal of federal funding.
A legal expert suggested Harvard could file a lawsuit to overturn the latest contract cuts as part of existing legal action.
"The case is so strong that the court system is not going to step to the side and allow this... to go forward," said Albany Law School professor Ray Brescia.
He said the Trump administration's assault on Harvard was so flawed that a higher court would likely strike down the campaign if the Trump administration were to challenge it on appeal.
On Monday, Trump nonetheless vowed he would prevail in the increasingly public struggle, claiming that foreign students at Harvard include "radicalized lunatics, troublemakers."
By Gregory WALTON, with Sebastian SMITH in Washington/AFP
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