DHS demands records of Harvard’s foreign students, threatens enrollment
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem on Wednesday demanded that Harvard University submit records before next month on foreign students alleged to have engaged in “illegal and violent activities,” or face losing its Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, which allows U.S. universities to admit international students.
The threat comes as scores of international students and scholars have learned that their visas were abruptly revoked, leaving college officials scrambling to understand what is happening. More than 1 million international students attend colleges in the United States every year, contributing nearly $44 billion to the economy, The Washington Post previously reported.
Noem also said in a news release Wednesday that her department was terminating two previously awarded grants to Harvard worth more than $2.7 million, and repeated accusations by the Trump administration that the university condoned antisemitism and embraced “radical ideology.”
The Department of Homeland Security said funding was rescinded for the Implementation Science for Targeted Violence Prevention grant, worth about $800,000, and the Blue Campaign Program Evaluation and Violence Advisement grant, worth around $1.9 million.
In a statement released Wednesday to the media, Harvard said that it was aware of Noem’s announcement but that the school stands by its earlier statements, in which it said it would not relinquish its rights or independence.
“We will continue to comply with the law and expect the Administration to do the same,” said the emailed statement said.
While Harvard’s endowment — worth more than $53 billion as of June 2024 — covered nearly 40% of its $6.4 billion operating expenses in the 2024 fiscal year, the university said it relies on other sources, “such as federal and nonfederal research grants, student tuition and fees, and gifts from alumni, parents, and friends,” to finance the rest of its costs.
On Monday, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard and asked the IRS to remove the university’s tax-exempt status, alleging in part that Harvard was not doing enough to clamp down on antisemitism in the wake of protests on its campus last year denouncing Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Trump administration has also said Harvard should end all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs; make its hiring and admission practices completely merit-based; and report international students with conduct violations to federal authorities.
In a letter this week, Harvard representatives rejected the Trump administration’s demands, describing them as a contravention of the First Amendment and based on accusations that the government has not proved “through mandatory processes established by Congress and required by law.”
While Harvard remains “committed to fighting antisemitism and other forms of bigotry,” the school “will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights” by accepting the Trump administration’s demands, they said.
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a separate message to the school community.