“I am a Harvard student until someone tells me I’m not”: A Torontonian on Trump’s attack on international students

Last Thursday, the Trump administration issued a legal motion barring Harvard from accepting international students—the latest chapter in an ongoing stand-off that has put billions in federal funding and the fates of more than 8,000 students around the world in question. J. J. Gobin is a third-year law student and the head of Harvard’s Canadian Law Students Association. For the Scarborough native, attending the Iviest of Ivy League institutions was a “pipe dream” that actually came true. But, now, his educational future hangs in the balance. Just this morning, a US federal judge extended a restraining order that blocks the Trump administration’s ban from taking effect until the case can be ruled on. It’s a victory in one battle, but the war rages on—and like many international students who have had the rug ripped out from under them, Gobin has no backup plan.

You grew up in Scarborough. Was Harvard Law always the ideal? I guess I would call it a pipe dream. When you come from the circumstances that I come from—a first-generation kid from a low-income household—the Ivy League is not something that seems possible. There’s not exactly a pipeline from the halls of my Scarborough high school to the halls of Harvard. I was always an academic kid, and my interest in politics came early. In Grade 7, I was a page at Queen’s Park. I volunteered for my local MP, and my first summer job was with an MPP. I did my undergrad at Brock, studying sports management, and assumed I would get my law degree at a Canadian university. But then I worked summers at the Crown attorney’s office in Peel, and the people I met made me think, Why not just try? I never thought I would actually get in.

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How did actually going to Harvard compare to the pipe dream? Like a lot of people, I put Harvard on a pedestal. I’m not going to say that I wasn’t intimidated thinking of the people who have walked those halls before me: Barack Obama, attorney Michael Weiner, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, 19 Supreme Court justices. But, when I arrived on campus in September of 2023, the school did a really good job of making me feel like I belonged and making other first-generation students, other students of colour, students from various socioeconomic backgrounds feel that way. The communities on campus are so intertwined that it’s almost hard to determine who is an international student and who is domestic. There is so much discourse, debate, collegiality. What I love about Harvard is that it doesn’t matter where you come from or how you got there—once you’re there, you’re at the highest level of intellectual rigour. The desire for academic excellence is inspiring. Having a global community furthers that mission by ensuring that every voice is heard, every perspective is considered. Related: Trump’s Loss, Toronto’s Gain—Meet the artists, professors, scientists and other luminaries ditching the US and moving north

And now this same international student community is being accused of inciting violence on campus and showing contempt for America. How does it feel to be characterized in this way by the federal government? I think that making blanket assertions about a group that is made up of individuals is always a problem, regardless of what the assertion is. Stereotyping is harmful, and it never feels nice to be othered. In this case, it feels like like I am being dragged into a conflict that has nothing to do with me, so that is incredibly frustrating. I realize there is an opposing point of view that says international students are responsible [for violence on campus].

And what do you say to that? I have not been presented with any evidence that supports those claims.

Just yesterday, Trump proposed a 15 per cent cap on international students at Harvard so that the Ivy League can be “great again.” Thoughts? I guess the first thing I would say is that Harvard’s international community has played a huge role in making it great. My favourite class—about the role of the judiciary in a democracy—was taught by former Canadian Supreme Court justice Rosalie Abella. I think what Trump is saying is the same rhetoric he campaigned on and that won him the election, so it’s not surprising. I’m studying at Harvard, but Harvard is not America. Harvard is Harvard. I’m here to learn, to get an education that is supposed to be borderless. I think, for a lot of the people who come to Harvard, it’s like a pilgrimage in pursuit of higher education. And now, for thousands of international students, this lifelong pursuit is at stake.

Related: The perilous lives of Canada’s international students

Can you take us back to last Thursday, when you first learned that your future as an international student was uncertain? I was at my desk at my summer job. I left Boston after exams and am currently in New York, under the same visa that allowed me to be at Harvard. I got the news on my phone, and as much as I was aware of the administration’s various positions on campus politics, I was still totally shocked. My stomach turned, hands shaking, all of that. I actually thought it was fake news, but then the New York Times reported on it and I started getting texts and calls from my parents, grandparents, cousins. Getting to Harvard was an accomplishment for not just me and my family but also for the communities I represent. To be so close to graduation and have this happen has been extremely jarring for all of us. I definitely wasn’t expecting the nuclear option to be launched so quickly.

But doesn’t it feel like scorched earth is the Trump administration’s modus operandi? I would say that the bounds of executive power are being tested by the legal system right now. The current administration is testing some novel theories, and the legal system will determine if these theories are valid or not.

Spoken like a true law student. Can you give us a rundown of the relevant legal actions and what happens next? Last week, the Department of Homeland Security announced its intention to revoke Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program eligibility, which is the program that allows American universities to enrol international students. I have not seen the government’s legal arguments yet, so at this point I can only go on the information contained in the letter sent by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to Harvard, saying that the Trump administration is holding Harvard accountable for “fostering violence, antisemitism, and pro-terrorist conduct from students on its campus.” Related: “Since the federal government capped international student enrolment, many of us haven’t felt welcome in Canada"

And they are doing this by banning international students. Why? I can’t pretend to understand the administration’s motivations. The point of this case is to determine whether there are any legitimate justifications for the government’s action. We do know that Harvard has responded by suing the Department of Homeland Security, saying that the action is a violation of the university’s First Amendment rights and that the government didn’t follow proper procedures in revoking Harvard’s international enrolment abilities, so basically it’s arbitrary and capricious.

What’s next? This morning, a federal judge extended the restraining order that blocks the ban from taking effect, so that’s good news in the short term. But the broader case that will determine the long-term fate of international students has yet to be argued, so that remains extremely nerve-wracking.

Any predictions? I don’t want to comment on the legal merits. As a law student, I have been taught about the checks and balances that the judiciary branch provides within the American legal system, and that the conclusions and outcomes of that legal system are correct and just. Obviously I have my own opinions on what the judgment should be, but what I’m trying to say is that the system will produce one outcome, and a key tenet of the legal system is that we abide by the rulings of the court.

But what if the court rules in favour of the government? What does that mean for you and thousands of other international students at Harvard? My understanding based on the letter is that, if the preliminary injunction is not entered, international students will have to transfer or leave the United States.

Do you have a backup plan? The New York Times has reported that many international students at Harvard are already seeking transfers. I don’t. There is no stability right now in terms of making decisions about the future. My feeling is that I am a Harvard student until someone tells me I’m not. That’s not to say I’m not incredibly stressed. There have been sleepless nights, almost debilitating anxiety and stress. I’m trying to compartmentalize, though, rather than going down the rabbit hole of what-ifs and worst case scenarios. Like I said before, what’s so hard about this is that we, as international students, have no control over our fate. It’s an entirely reactive situation. That’s why I’m speaking to media, because it feels like one of the only things I can do that is proactive.

Do you worry that being a public face of this story could lead to retaliation? I do. My mom is definitely concerned. But, in a situation where we feel so powerless, I want to be out here reminding people—people back home in Canada and especially my fellow international students at Harvard—that we are still here, we are real people with rights and a vibrant community that has a voice and a perspective. In a legal dispute between two administrations, it’s easy to forget about the actual humans affected. I don’t want us to get lost.

How has Harvard supported its international student community? When Harvard filed its suit in the district court to stop the action, we received a copy of the complaint from the school president and a message reiterating his support for international students and scholars on campus. And then we got an email from the international office where the very first line said, “You belong here.” This goes back to what I was saying about how it felt when I first started at Harvard Law, and it’s such an important message to hear right now. When the government is telling us that we are not wanted, our school is standing behind us.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.