The administration of United States President Donald Trump is using its authority to block Harvard University from admitting foreign students, the New York Times reported today, according to Reuters.
The administration notified Harvard that it would do so as part of an ongoing investigation of the university by the Department of Homeland Security, the newspaper said, citing three people familiar with the matter and a letter sent to the university by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The Department of Homeland Security announced that the Trump administration today revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll students from abroad and forced existing students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status, Reuters reports.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has ordered the department to revoke the certification of Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor Program, according to a statement.
Noem accused the university of "inciting violence, anti-Semitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party."
Harvard said the Trump administration's move - which affects thousands of students - was illegal and reprisal.
The crackdown on foreign students marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration's campaign against the elite university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has emerged as one of Trump's most prominent institutional targets, according to Reuters.
The agency added that the Secretariat said the move comes after Harvard refused to provide information Noem had previously requested about some foreign student visa holders attending the university.
"It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition fees to help fill their multi-billion dollar budgets," Noem said in a statement.
Harvard denied the allegations and promised to support foreign students.
"The government's action is unlawful. This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission," the university said in a statement.
The university said it was "fully committed" to the education of international students and was working to develop guidelines for affected students.
Harvard has enrolled nearly 6.800 international students in the 2024-2025 academic year, 27 percent of its total enrollment, according to university statistics.
Trump, a Republican, has undertaken extraordinary efforts to "fix" private colleges and schools across the US that he says foster anti-American, Marxist and "radical leftist" ideologies.
He particularly criticized Harvard for hiring prominent Democrats in teaching or leadership positions.
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