President Donald Trump sounded off on Harvard University again Wednesday amid his spat with the venerable school, proposing a cap on the number of foreign students it admits and ensuring they “love our country.”

Their battle, playing out in sound bites and in court, has left students afraid to attend their own graduation, according to a new court filing.

More than a quarter of Harvard’s students, 27%, are from abroad, according to the school, which has sued to stop the Trump administration from preventing it enrolling foreign students. The Department of Homeland Security has demanded that the university share detailed personal information on its foreign students as it investigates allegations of institutional antisemitism that Harvard denies.

The Trump administration has also frozen billions in funding and grants amid the high-profile battle and is looking to end all remaining federal contracts with the school.

“Harvard wants to fight, they want to show how smart they are, and they are getting their ass kicked,” the president said, a day ahead of commencement.

His idea of capping how many foreign students can attend Harvard, and potentially other U.S. schools, was new.

“I think they should have a cap of maybe around 15%,” he told reporters at the White House. “We have people who want to go to Harvard, and other schools, they can’t get in because we have foreign students there. But I want want to make sure that the foreign students are people that can love our country.”

Last week, the university sent a message to its international community that led, “First and foremost, you belong here.” On Tuesday, thousands of Harvard alumni also joined a virtual rally to speak out against Trump’s targeted cuts to the school.

The head of Harvard’s immigration services swore in a court filing obtained by NBC News that the Trump administration revoking the university’s certification to enroll foreign students has left some students “afraid to attend their own graduation ceremonies this week out of fear that some immigration-related action will be taken against them,” even though a judge temporarily blocked the administration’s action.

Maureen Martin also wrote that other students have canceled international travel for research or to visit family over the risk they may not be allowed back into the U.S. or asked about transferring, offering specific examples.

“At least half a dozen foreign consulates in the United States have reached out to Harvard seeking information about how the Revocation Notice affects the welfare of students and scholars from their countries who are enrolled at Harvard,” she wrote.

Amid all the turmoil, admissions counselors said that Harvard’s reputation will remain intact, even while raising big questions for applicants.

“The families that we work with have been calling us pretty much nonstop,” said Kristen Willmott, a former Harvard admissions officer who works for Top Tier Admissions.

“Harvard is still a dream school but the families that we work with are really watching the news closely,” she said.

For Brian Taylor, managing partner of admissions consulting company Ivy Coach, the battle isn’t coming up in conversations with families as much as it could.

“Sometimes we have to address the elephant in the room. ’You do realize that U.S. schools are not so friendly right now to international students?’” he said.

But he too said that Harvard isn’t going anywhere: “Harvard is Harvard, and what we tell them when they do ask or when we do bring it up, is this too shall pass, and Harvard will be Harvard.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said Wednesday that she’s “very glad” the university has fought the Trump administration in court amid the government’s “unprecedented” actions.