New York: The Donald Trump administration has threatened to revoke Harvard University’s eligibility to enrol international students if it doesn’t submit detailed records of its foreign students’ “illegal and violent activities”.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Wednesday wrote a “scathing letter” demanding detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities by April 30, or face immediate loss of Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP) certification, a DHS news release said.
“Harvard bending the knee to antisemitism, driven by its spineless leadership, fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security.
“With anti-American, pro-Hamas ideology poisoning its campus and classrooms, Harvard’s position as a top institution of higher learning is a distant memory. America demands more from universities entrusted with taxpayer dollars,” Noem said.
DHS said since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Harvard’s foreign visa-holding rioters and faculty have spewed antisemitic hate, targeting Jewish students.
“With a USD 53.2 billion endowment, Harvard can fund its own chaos — DHS won’t. And if Harvard cannot verify it is in full compliance with its reporting requirements, the university will lose the privilege of enrolling foreign students,” it said.
Earlier this week, Harvard had said the Trump administration issued an updated and expanded list of demands, “warning that Harvard must comply if we intend to maintain [our] financial relationship with the federal government”.
Harvard President Alan Garber said the “unprecedented demands” being made by the federal government to control the Harvard community include requirements to “audit” the “viewpoints of our student body, faculty, staff, and to “reduc[e] the power” of certain students, faculty, and administrators targeted because of their ideological views.
“We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement. The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Garber had said.
Noem also announced cancellation of two DHS grants totalling over USD 2.7 million to Harvard University, declaring it unfit to be entrusted with taxpayer dollars.
DHS said the USD 800,303 Implementation Science for Targeted Violence Prevention grant branded conservatives as far-right dissidents in a shockingly skewed study. The USD 1,934,902 Blue Campaign Programme Evaluation and Violence Advisement grant funded Harvard’s public health propaganda. “Both undermine America’s values and security,” it said.
The agency said the action follows President Trump’s decision to freeze USD 2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard University, proposing the revocation of its tax-exempt status over its radical ideology.
A report in the Harvard Crimson said a total of 12 current Harvard students and recent graduates have had their visas revoked. It noted that American universities may host international students on student visas only if they have certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Programme.
AP
