Trump lands devastating new blow on Harvard that’s set to drain Ivy League college’s coffers further
The Trump administration has pulled the plug on Harvard’s ability to enroll international students in its continuing war with the Ivy League school.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the move on Thursday, saying thousands of current students must transfer to other schools or leave the country.
In a statement they said that Harvard had created an unsafe campus environment by allowing ‘anti-American, pro-terrorists agitators’ on campus.
Their statement also accused the school of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, claiming they hosted and trained members of their paramilitary group.
Foreign students account for a quarter of the student body of the school, with around 6,800 at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard hit back with a statement calling the move unlawful and that they would be quickly working to provide guidance to their students.
‘This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard´s academic and research mission’, they said.
The move by the department, headed by Secretary Kristi Noem, comes after she promised last month to terminate the school’s ability to have foreign students.
The sanction was announced on Thursday. President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are seen here
Foreign students account for a quarter of the student body of the school, with around 6,800 at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, seen here
That promise come after she had demanded that Harvard hand over detailed records of its international students and their ‘illegal and violent activities’.
In a letter to Harvard on Thursday, Noem said the sanction is ‘the unfortunate result of Harvard’s failure to comply with simple reporting requirements.’
It bars Harvard from hosting international students for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.
Noem said Harvard can regain its ability to host foreign students if it produces a trove of records on foreign students within 72 hours.
Her updated request demands all records, including audio or video footage, of foreign students participating in protests or dangerous activity on campus.
She said: ‘This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.’
It is the latest in the ongoing battle between the administration and the school, with officials saying earlier this month that they would be cutting grants.
Trump has been critical of universities that allowed pro-Palestinian demonstrations to run amok.
The Department of Homeland Security said that Harvard had created an unsafe campus environment by allowing ‘anti-American, pro-terrorists agitators’ on campus
Supporters of Palestine gather at Harvard University to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza, during a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 2023
Administration officials have also taken issue with what they consider to be lack of diversity – with too few conservatives on staff.
A Education Department official said earlier this month that the school would not be eligible for new grants.
Research grants would be the ones impacted – not federal student aid, which funnels through universities before providing students with financial relief.
Trump previously froze $2.2 billion in federal grants to Harvard and said he’s looking into stripping the Ivy of its tax-exempt status.
Harvard has refused to meet a series of demands issued by the administration, pushing back on the requests.
Harvard President Alan Garber, seen here,has previously said he won’t bend to the government
President of the school Alan Garber has previously said he won’t bend to the government.
The university sued last month to overturn the funding freeze, pushing back against the government’s ‘sweeping and intrusive demands.’
The demands include that Harvard make broad government leadership changes, change its admissions policy and audit its faculty and student body.
Harvard´s lawsuit said the funding freeze violated the school´s First Amendment rights and the statutory provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has an endowment of $53 billion, the largest in the country.
Across the university, federal money accounted for 10.5% of revenue in 2023, not counting financial aid such as Pell grants and student loans.
That accounts for more than half the $109 billion spent on research at universities, with most of the rest coming from college endowments, state and local governments and nonprofits.
Others being pushed to make changes include Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University, all of who have had their funds cut.
