International Students and the Idea of America
My Remarks at the Harvard Stand United Rally
Below is a transcript of my remarks delivered at the Harvard Stand United Rally in defense of international students on May 27, 2025, at the Science Center Plaza at Harvard. In these remarks, I relate why the fight for international students is part of the fight for democracy and the American ideal.
Hello.
There is nowhere I’d rather be right now than here with you: with international students and their supporters. We need you here—all of you—because we are now part of a struggle that is bigger than ourselves.
It may not have been a fight you asked for, but let me tell you, I know that you are all up for it because I know you. I have worked here for 15 years, and the international students at Harvard are the finest people I know. There is no Harvard without them. And because of that, we stand united. We will fight with all we have to keep you here in our community.
Each and every one of you is worth fighting for. You have earned your place at Harvard. But we also must understand that this is not just a fight for international students. It is not just a fight for Harvard. And it is certainly not a fight over politics or Democrats versus Republicans.
This is a fight for democracy and the rule of law. These are the principles that unite us.
We are not here to protect our diplomas or to protect Harvard’s endowment. We are here because there is an idea in America, represented by all of you, that is worth fighting for.
It tells you a lot about an institution and a country if people come from across the world to be there. It also tells you a lot about a country when it sends its people across the world to help others.
I know this because, in a certain way, I started my life as an international student. I was born as an American citizen, but not in this country; rather, I was born in what was then West Germany. My very earliest perspectives were as a visitor, learning and being nurtured in another country.
But the important part is why my family was in Germany. At the height of the Cold War—the struggle between tyranny and freedom, between dictatorship and democracy—my father was stationed in Germany as part of the American military.
He was one of millions. When America was taking a stand for democracy and for a way of life, millions of men and women from the United States uprooted their lives—and American taxpayers paid with their dollars—to be the frontline of freedom.
It was America that took on that duty. We didn’t leave it to somebody else to protect freedom.
Look, I am not naïve. I understand history. So, I know that America was not perfect in its history. I am not asking you to believe America is perfect now. But I am asking you to believe in an idea.
The idea that America can stand for something great. When my family was overseas, it was standing for something remarkable: a country that used its wealth and power to try to make the world a better place.
For many of you, it was this idea of freedom and democracy and the blessings that flow from these that brought you to America.
This is the noble ideal of America. An America that brings in, teaches and nurtures the best and brightest from around the globe and gives so much back to the world. An America that sends our citizens and our science and our ideas around the world to better humankind.
An America that stands for democracy, for the idea that a government is for the people and by the people. And the idea that people, all people, have certain inalienable rights.
But let’s be clear. All of that is now under threat. The attack on Harvard and the attack on you are at the center of an attack on democracy. An attack on the rule of law.
There is a reason that Donald Trump’s attempt to keep international students out of Harvard was blocked by a judge in less than 24 hours: because it is blatantly illegal. It not only violates statutory law, but it violates the American constitutional protections of freedom of speech and due process.
Freedom of speech and due process. These are the foundations of the American system.
These are the foundations of a free society. But Donald Trump is attacking these freedoms because they get in the way of his authoritarian takeover.
This is what authoritarians do.
You know, it may surprise you, because he seems so obsessed with us, but Donald Trump doesn’t actually care about Harvard. He just wants to take Harvard down because universities stand for free ideas and for free speech. Free ideas and free speech get in the way of authoritarians. And so, like authoritarians before him, in places like Russia, and Turkey, and Hungary, Donald Trump is attacking universities.
And like other authoritarians, Donald Trump is targeting the most vulnerable members of our society, including immigrants.
But let me tell you, he underestimated Harvard, and he underestimated all of you. Harvard stood up and said no. You stood up and said no.
Well, guess what? We are going to keep saying no because we understand what is at stake here.
This rally shows that you are a powerful voice. Together, we are a powerful voice. We are here to stand up for the Harvard and for the America that we believe in.
I often tell my students that you came to Harvard because you wanted to do big things. To make a difference in the world. Right now, you are doing that.
The world is watching as we speak up. As we speak up for the ideal of America. This is what we are fighting for. And it is a fight that I know we can win.