The conflict between Harvard University and the Trump administration escalated dramatically this week, with federal officials stripping the university of its authority to enroll international students, a move Harvard has condemned as unlawful and politically motivated.
In a sweeping action announced Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security accused Harvard of cultivating a hostile campus climate, citing alleged assaults on Jewish students by “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators.” The department also claimed that Harvard had collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party by hosting and training members of a Chinese paramilitary unit as recently as 2024.
“This means Harvard can no longer enroll foreign students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status,” the agency stated, dealing a heavy blow to a campus that currently enrolls nearly 6,800 international students, more than a quarter of its total enrollment.
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Harvard, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, responded forcefully, decrying the decision and pledging support for affected students. “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.
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The revocation is the latest salvo in a mounting feud that has pitted the White House against one of America’s most prestigious academic institutions. Harvard was the first elite university to defy Trump administration demands for sweeping reforms, particularly around issues of liberal bias and antisemitism. In response, the federal government slashed $2.6 billion in research funding and President Donald Trump has publicly called for revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
The immediate catalyst for the international student ban appears to be an April 16 directive from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. She had demanded Harvard supply detailed data on foreign students allegedly involved in protests or violent incidents. When the university failed to comply, she issued a punitive order this week.
In a letter to Harvard, Noem wrote that the university’s sanction was “the unfortunate result of Harvard’s failure to comply with simple reporting requirements.” The letter also barred the school from enrolling any new international students for the 2025–26 academic year.
She further threatened that unless Harvard produces all relevant materials—including audio and video records within 72 hours, the ban would remain in effect. “This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” Noem declared.
By revoking Harvard’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, the administration has cut off the university’s ability to sponsor student visas. Without that certification, international students can neither remain enrolled nor enter the country legally.
Harvard President Alan Garber recently addressed the escalating federal pressure, stating that while the university has adopted new governance strategies and a comprehensive antisemitism response plan over the past 18 months, it will not compromise “its core, legally-protected principles.” Garber also noted, “he wasn’t aware of evidence to support the administration’s allegation that its international students were ‘more prone to disruption, violence, or other misconduct than any other students.’”
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Student groups were quick to criticize the administration’s move. Harvard College Democrats issued a blunt rebuke: “Trump’s attack on international students is text book authoritarianism — Harvard must continue to hold the line.”
The action has also drawn sharp objections from free speech advocates. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression warned against Noem’s demands, calling them a major overstep: “This sweeping fishing expedition reaches protected expression and must be flatly rejected,” the group said.
Federal officials claim their action is rooted in multiple national security concerns. They cited an internal Harvard report detailing Jewish students’ experiences of bias and harassment, particularly during recent pro-Palestinian protests that have swept campuses nationwide. The Department of Homeland Security cited that report, along with a Fox News article referencing a Republican letter alleging that Harvard offered training to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a controversial Chinese entity.
When asked about the alleged ties to China, a Harvard spokesperson, according to an AP report, said the university is preparing a formal response to the letter from House Republicans.
Ted Mitchell, head of the American Council on Education, condemned the government’s move as punitive and excessive. “I worry that this is sending a very chilling effect to international students looking to come to America for education,” he said, calling the administration’s action “illegal, small-minded.”
This isn’t the first time the administration has weaponized immigration databases against higher education. What was once a tool for managing visa status has increasingly become an enforcement mechanism. Federal agents have used it to cancel student visas unilaterally, bypassing due process. Legal challenges followed, resulting in a nationwide injunction that has, for now, limited further terminations.
READ ALSO: Trump administration halts $2.2B in Harvard funding amid crackdown on campus activism
