The Trump administration has escalated tensions with elite academia by revoking Harvard University's certification to enroll international students, a move that has sent shockwaves through higher education institutions across the country.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem notified Harvard that its Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification had been “revoked effective immediately.” In a formal letter, Noem stated, “I am writing to inform you that, effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked.”
Noem later took to social media to justify the decision, accusing Harvard of “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.” She stated that the privilege to enroll international students, who often pay higher tuition rates, should not be extended to institutions that fail to comply with federal expectations.
“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law,” she wrote.
Noem also warned that this decision should serve as a wake-up call to other academic institutions across the United States.
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Harvard Rejects the Decision, Calls It 'Unlawful'
Harvard University responded forcefully, calling the Department of Homeland Security’s move “unlawful.” In an official statement, the university reaffirmed its commitment to international students and vowed to continue supporting more than 140 nationalities represented on campus. Harvard is reportedly preparing to mount a new legal challenge against the decision.
The latest revocation comes just weeks after Harvard had already taken legal action against the administration, challenging attempts to influence its curriculum, admissions policies, and faculty hiring practices. The university had filed that lawsuit in response to earlier efforts by the Trump administration to impose tighter controls on academic institutions.
The situation escalated in mid-April, when the Department of Homeland Security sent Harvard a letter requesting detailed information on foreign students’ campus activities — including their involvement in protests. On April 16, DHS warned that failure to comply could result in the withdrawal of the university’s SEVP certification. Although Harvard submitted some disciplinary records three weeks ago, officials have declined to disclose exactly what information was shared with federal authorities.
The Trump administration’s revocation of Harvard’s international enrollment privileges is likely to have major repercussions for thousands of students, and could trigger broader legal and political battles between academic institutions and federal agencies in the coming weeks.
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