Leading Germans slam 'chilling' plan to ban foreigners from Harvard

Two top German politicians have slammed plans by US President Donald Trump to block foreigners from studying at Harvard, with one - himself an alumnus of the elite university - saying it "sends out a chilling signal" and is "research policy suicide."

"When the most important and highest performing universities are deliberately weakened, it is one of the most important pillars of the US economy that is being undermined," former German health minister and Harvard alumnus Karl Lauterbach, who now leads the country's parliamentary research committee, told Germany's Rheinische Post daily on Friday.

Countless companies in the United States benefit from the knowledge that Harvard graduates bring with them, Lauterbach said, noting that "many foreign Harvard graduates stay in the United States after completing their studies."

Lauterbach, who served as Germany's health minister until May 6, when a new government took over, has been a visiting lecturer at the Harvard School of Public Health since 1996, according to his CV on the German parliament's website.

He was also enrolled in public health-related master programmes and a post-graduate programme at the university between 1989 and 1995, according to the CV.

Lauterbach said he very much hoped that Trump's decision could still be reversed. "But even if that is possible, the attack on free teaching and research sends out a chilling signal."

German Research Minister Dorothee Bär also expressed regret on Friday at the decision.

"This saddens me very much. That's not a positive signal, neither for the young generation nor for the free world," Bär said, as she arrived at a meeting with her European Union counterparts in Brussels.

"I very much hope that the US government will revoke this decision, because it really is fatal," she added.

Administration cites anti-Semitism, extreme ideology

Trump has accused Harvard and other elite US universities of pursuing a left-wing ideology and allowing anti-Semitism on campus. His administration sent a list of demands on April 11 to the institution, which Harvard has refused to adopt.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Thursday the administration was "holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, anti-Semitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus."

She revoked the university's certification to receive foreign students and exchange visitors for what she said was "pro-terrorist conduct." This means that Harvard's international students would have to transfer to other universities or risk losing their legal status, Noem said in a statement.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration froze more than $2 billion in federal grants and contracts at Harvard.

Three-digit number of German students at Harvard

The Foreign Office is aware of a three-digit number of German students currently studying at Harvard, a spokesman said in Berlin on Friday without elaborating.

He announced prompt discussions with Washington regarding the impact that the proposed ban will have on the German students. The German government perceives this as an urgent matter and will express the expectation that their concerns and interests will be adequately considered, he said.

Deputy German government spokesman Sebastian Hille said that free science is at the core of liberal societies. "Restrictions on academic freedom are restrictions on democracy itself," he said.