London – The students excluded from the American universities by the administration of President Donald Trump, instead, should come to the United Kingdom, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said an event on Monday, while criticizing the governments that participate in the “narrow” and harmful nationalism.
When elaborating to London as a “lighthouse of hope, progress and possibility,” Khan told the attendees of the Concordia Summit in Europe that the city will go back against the movements “towards closed societies and the countries that wish to separate from the world, will abdicate their responsibilities under the global order based on rules and attribute a close form of nationalism that divides their populations into the insiders and outsids.” “
“To choose a completely random country, I must say that we are delighted that the record number of Americans is requesting British citizenship or to live and work here, and that many choose to establish themselves in London,” Khan continued.
“Our city will always offer newcomers a warm welcome,” said the mayor. “The same goes for any student abroad who considers where to go below. If the United States is closed for you, we will make sure that London is open, because we value and celebrate the contribution that foreign students made to our society, our economy and our culture.”
The mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks in London, the United Kingdom, on June 8, 2025.
Carlos Jasso/Reuters
These governments that seek to “stop globalization or relax as much as they can to their perceived advantage” participate in “a completely self -sufficient exercise that will make immense damage to their own economy and those of their allies and commercial partners,” Khan said.
Khan, an outstanding member of the Labor-Labiente Labor Party of the United Kingdom, did not explicitly mention the Trump administration in his speech. The two men have repeatedly criticized themselves in the past.
When Khan was running for mayor of London in 2015, he said that Trump’s proposed prohibition to Muslims entering the United States was “scandalous.” Khan, who is British Pakistani background, later said he expected Trump “to lose bad” in the 2016 presidential elections. During Trump’s first mandate, Khan pressed the British government to cancel the visit of the state of President 2017.
Trump has characterized Khan’s criticism as “very unpleasant,” he accused the mayor of three periods of doing a “terrible work” and fired him as a “cold stone loser.”
European nations mobilize to attract students and researchers blocked from their work in the United States, since the Trump administration seeks to reduce funds for US institutions linked to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The Trump administration is also aimed at universities that it accuses of doing very little to suppress pro-palestinian protests against the Israel War in Gaza, protests that the White House has been widely characterized as anti-Semitic.
Last month, the European Union launched a $ 566 million plan for 2025-2027 “to make Europe a magnet for researchers.” Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is preparing its own $ 67 million plan to attract foreign researchers.
Khan addressed those who “no longer feel comfortable with their political climate” on Monday to “come to London, because we are ready to display the red carpet to business leaders, technological entrepreneurs, people of high heritage in networks, creative, students, who are.”
“If you value certainty and stability, freedom and democracy, pluralism and mutual respect, then London is the place to be,” said the mayor.
A student who graduated uses his hat, decorated with a statement of support for international students, during graduation exercises at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 29, 2025.
Brian Snyder/Reuters
