How a Trump Administration plan could impact a women’s basketball team that made the NCAA Tournament

Donald Trump has the Department of Homeland Security taking aim at banning international students from Harvard. It could impact the Crimson’s women’s basketball team.

President Donald J. Trump is taking aim at Harvard University and the actions of his administration could have a significant impact on athletics at the prestigious Ivy League institution.

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard’s certification to admit foreign students, essentially halting its ability to enroll international students. In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Harvard “for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.”

Then, on Friday, after Harvard sued the Trump administration for the second time in less than a month, a federal judge blocked the administration’s action, putting Harvard and Trump’s action in a limbo of sorts.

With Harvard’s lawsuit pending, Trump’s sanction on the school is on hold. Should it eventually be allowed, it would impact more than 7,000 Harvard students — including varsity athletes.

“With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,” Harvard stated in its lawsuit. “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”

Harvard sponsors 42 varsity sports, more than any other Division I NCAA institution in the country. According to Sportico, 21 percent of Harvard’s athletes hail from countries outside of the U.S.

Two of them play for Harvard’s women’s basketball team, which won Ivy Madness and made the NCAA Tournament this season for the first time since 2007. Lydia Chatira, a guard from Greece, will be a sophomore next season, while 6-foot-4 forward Maya Nahar — an incoming freshman — hails from the small South American country of Suriname.

Chatira was a starter on last season’s NCAA Tournament team, starting all 29 games and averaging 2.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.3 minutes per game. Her best performance came in a win over Boston, where she tallied eight points, six rebounds and three steals in 25 minutes.

Nahar was a nominee for the McDonald’s All-America game while playing for Western Reserve Academy in Ohio this past season. She chose to sign with the Crimson over offers from Wisconsin, SMU, Wyoming, George Washington, Yale, Buffalo and Davidson.

It’s unclear if Chatira or Nahar are attending Harvard on international visas, or if they are U.S. citizens or green card holders. Falling into the latter categories would protect their status at Harvard from Trump’s actions.

It’s difficult to know which athletes at Harvard could be impacted because visa statuses aren’t something that is typically listed on websites for college athletics, nor is it something that Harvard is likely to reveal. So, should Trump’s plan come to pass, which athletes that are impacted won’t be known until those sports seasons begin — unless, of course, the affected athletes speak out themselves.

Should Chatira or Nahar not be permitted to attend or play at Harvard next season because of the Trump administration’s actions, it’s uncertain what their options would be. The transfer portal for women’s basketball closed on April 23. A source confirmed to SB Nation that neither Chatira or Nahar are currently in the transfer portal.

Other women’s sports at Harvard could be decimated too. The field hockey team lists eight international players, while women’s soccer has 15. Several other sports, like squash and rowing, have multiple international players as well.

Spokespersons for Harvard athletics did not immediately respond to SB Nation’s request for comment. In a statement on Friday, Harvard president Alan M. Garber said the actions by the Department of Homeland Security were “unlawful and unwarranted.”

“It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams,” Garber added. “... For those international students and scholars affected by yesterday’s action, know that you are vital members of our community.”