The US Department of Homeland Security, DHS, said Harvard University will not have the ability to admit foreign students if it fails to meet demands from the Trump’s administration to share information on some visa holders.
This marks the government’s latest escalation against the educational institution.
In a statement on Wednesday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also announced the termination of two DHS grants totaling more than $2.7 million to Harvard.
Noem said she wrote a letter to Harvard requesting for records on what she described as the illegal and violent activities of Harvard’s foreign student visa holders by April 30.
“And if Harvard cannot verify it is in full compliance with its reporting requirements, the university will lose the privilege of enrolling foreign students,” Noem said.
According to a Harvard spokesperson, the university was aware of Noem’s letter regarding grant cancellations and scrutiny of foreign student visas.
The spokesperson stated that the university stood by its statement earlier in the week not to surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights, stressing that it will comply with the law.
Recall that President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened universities with federal funding cuts over pro-Palestinian campus protests against US ally Israel’s devastating military assault on Gaza after a deadly October 2023 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants.
Trump casts the protesters as foreign policy threats who are antisemitic and sympathetic to Hamas.
According to protesters, including some Jewish groups, the Trump’s administration wrongly conflates their advocacy for Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza with support for extremism and antisemitism.
The Trump’s administration is also making efforts to deport some foreign protesters and has revoked hundreds of visas across the country.
