Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is threatening to remove Harvard University's ability to enroll people from other countries unless it turns over its records on the "illegal and violent activities" of its international students.
She also on Wednesday stripped Harvard University of two federal grants, totaling $2.7 million, according to a DHS announcement.
Noem, the DHS reports, "wrote a scathing letter" demanding that Harvard turn over the information about the foreign student visa holders' activities by April 30 or "face immediate loss of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification."
Universities use the SEVP certification to issue forms to international students that they can use to apply for visas to come into the United States.
"Since Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Harvard's foreign visa-holding rioters and faculty have spewed antisemitic hate, targeting Jewish students," the DHS said in its announcement. "With a $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."
In the 2024-25 academic year, 6,793 international students are enrolled at Harvard, making up 27.2% of its enrollment, according to university data, reports CNN.
"Harvard bending the knee to antisemitism — driven by its spineless leadership — fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security," Noem said.
"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," she added. "America demands more from universities entrusted with taxpayer dollars."
A Harvard spokesperson said the university is aware of Noem's letter but it will "not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights," doubling down on a previous statement.
"We will continue to comply with the law and expect the Administration to do the same," Harvard's statement says, reports CNN. "If federal action is taken against a member of our community, we expect it will be based on clear evidence, follow established legal procedures, and respect the constitutional rights afforded to all individuals."
Harvard has refused demands from the Trump administration to eliminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, enact merit-based hiring and admission, ban masks at campus protests, and reduce the powers of its faculty and administration.
The Trump White House says its demands aim at combating antisemitism after campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war.
Noem's action follows President Donald Trump's decision to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard and his call for the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the university's tax-exempt status.
The DHS said the grants it is eliminating were used in programs that "undermine America's values and security."
The larger of the grants, $1.9 million, went to Harvard's Blue Campaign Program Evaluation and Violence Advisement program, which the DHS says funds the school's "public health propaganda."
The other grant, for just over $800,000, went to the Implementation Science for Targeted Violence Prevention program, which the DHS said portrayed conservatives as "far-right dissidents in a shockingly skewed study."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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