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.
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