The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday revoked Harvard University’s ability to host foreign students due to its “toxic campus climate.”
Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification has been revoked, meaning not only can the school not enroll any new foreign student, but all foreign students currently enrolled at the school “must transfer or lose their legal status.” Harvard has found itself in the Trump administration’s crosshairs over its alleged allowing of antisemitism and “inaccurate” foreign funding disclosures.
“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press release. “It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.”
Harvard had 6,793 international students enrolled in the 2024-2025 school year, making up more than a quarter of its student body, according to the university.
“The government’s action is unlawful,” a Harvard spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University – and this nation – immeasurably. We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community. This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”
The Trump administration has already cut more than $2 billion from the university and announced it no longer qualifies for federal grants after Harvard stated in April it would “not surrender” to the Trump administrations demands to combat antisemitism on campus. A September 2024 congressional investigation revealed “Harvard failed” to enforce meaningful punishment on nearly 70 students who were involved in a multi-day pro-Hamas encampment during the previous spring semester. Demonstrators at the school also disrupted classes and occupied a campus building.Harvard is also accused of failing to report foreign donations it has accepted as required by law. The Ivy League school has reportedly brought in $1.1 billion from foreign sources since 2017 alone, including over $100 million from China and about $1.6 million from “Palestinian territories.”
The Department of Education on April 18 launched a records request into Harvard after finding “the university’s foreign reports revealed incomplete and inaccurate disclosures.”
DHS also cites Harvard facilitating and engaging “in coordinated activity with the CCP,” referencing an incident exposed in 2021 in which two officials who oversee detention camps accused of committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, China, previously received fellowships from the university.
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