U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem threatens to revoke Harvard University's ability to admit foreigners if it does not provide records of «illegal and violent activities» of foreign students, the agency reported on Wednesday, writes CNN.
If the requirements are not met by April 30, 2025, the university may lose its certification for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which would effectively close Harvard's ability to admit foreign students.
Certification allows universities to issue accepted foreign students documents that they can use to apply for a visa to enter the United States.
«Education of foreign students at Harvard University is a privilege, not a guarantee», — states Noem's letter. A similar thesis was used by the Trump administration to deny journalists from several agencies and publications access to White House briefings.
A Harvard representative stated that the university maintains its previous stance and «will not relinquish its independence or yield its constitutional rights». «We will continue to comply with the law and expect the administration to do the same», — the statement reads.
According to the university, in the 2024-25 academic year, Harvard has 6,793 foreign students, which constitutes 27.2% of the total student body.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health also announced the cancellation of two federal grants totaling $2.7 million allocated to Harvard.
Previously, the Trump administration froze long-term grants and contracts of Harvard University totaling more than $2 billion after its leadership refused to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, ban masks at campus protests, implement hiring and admission reforms, and reduce the power of faculty and administrators, whom the Republican administration described as «more committed to activism than science».
Photo: Brett Phelps/The Boston Globe