The Trump administration has intensified its scrutiny of Harvard University, taking steps to terminate the institution’s student visa program and freezing billions in federal funding. These actions stem from concerns regarding the identities of foreign students, Harvard’s response to alleged campus antisemitism during protests, and the university’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices.
President Trump publicly criticized Harvard, stating, “We want to know who those foreign students are, a reasonable request since we give Harvard BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, but Harvard isn’t exactly forthcoming. We want those names and countries. Harvard has $52,000,000, use it, and stop asking for the Federal Government to continue GRANTING money to you!”
The Department of Homeland Security moved to terminate Harvard’s student visa program, alleging that the university failed to provide extensive behavioral records of student visa holders as requested by the agency. These records sought included footage of protest activity, even if non-criminal, and disciplinary records of all student visa holders over the past five years, as well as records of illegal, dangerous, or violent activity, threats, or the deprivation of rights of others.
Harvard responded by filing a lawsuit against the federal government, leading to a temporary block on the termination of the visa program by a judge on Friday. In its court filing, Harvard argued that the policy would impact over 7,000 visa holders, nearly a quarter of its student body, and constitutes a “blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act.” The university asserted that this action is retaliation for Harvard’s exercise of its First Amendment rights in rejecting government demands to control its governance, curriculum, and the “ideology” of its faculty and students. Harvard described the new policy as “pernicious,” accusing the administration of deviating from established practices without rational explanation and implementing it abruptly without proper procedures.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated to Congress on Tuesday that the administration has likely already revoked thousands of student visas and would “proudly” revoke more due to campus protest activity.
Furthermore, the Trump administration has already frozen nearly $3 billion in federal funding to Harvard, primarily research grants, citing claims that the university has not adequately addressed alleged campus antisemitism during protests and has not moved to eliminate its DEI practices.
Discussion about this post