The Trump administration has said Harvard’s foreign students must now transfer or lose their legal status. The university has called the action unlawful and said it is working to provide guidance to students.Scott Eisen/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has escalated its battle with Harvard University by revoking the school’s ability to enroll foreign students, casting doubt on the futures of thousands of scholars, including hundreds of Canadians.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a Thursday press release that Harvard has created an unsafe campus and permitted “pro-terrorist agitators” to harass and assault Jewish students. It said many of the “agitators” are foreign students. It also accused Harvard of hosting and training members of a Chinese paramilitary group that it says is “complicit in the Uyghur genocide.”
The Trump administration has said Harvard’s foreign students must now transfer or lose their legal status. The university called the action unlawful and said it is working to provide guidance to students.
“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. “It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments.”
She added that this action should serve as a warning to all universities.
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Ms. Noem’s sanction opens a new front in Trump administration’s battle with Harvard. The nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, it was the first to openly defy White House demands to limit pro-Palestinian protests and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
The Trump administration has responded by cutting US$2.6-billion in grants at Harvard, forcing it to self-fund much of its sprawling research operation. Harvard hit back with a lawsuit. Mr. Trump has said he wants to strip the university of its tax-exempt status.
Harvard enrols more than 5,000 foreign students from more than 100 countries, most of whom are graduate students. According to one university website, approximately 500 to 800 Canadian students and scholars study at Harvard in a given year.
Roughly 20 to 25 per cent of Harvard’s student population is foreign. They tend to pay higher tuition fees than domestic counterparts.
The university, in its statement Thursday responding to the Trump administration’s announcement, said “this retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”
The dispute between Harvard and the Trump administration was sparked by a demand from Ms. Noem on April 16 that the university provide information related to what her department called the “criminality and misconduct of foreign students on its campus.”
The Trump administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students on May 22, and is forcing existing overseas students to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status, while also threatening to expand the crackdown to other schools.
Reuters
Harvard was warned last month that failure to comply could result in the termination of its certification under the Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which manages foreign students’ entry into the U.S.
The Associated Press reported that Ms. Noem said Harvard can regain its ability to host foreign students if it produces the records demanded 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.
Thomas Mete, who just completed his third year at Harvard, said a group chat of Canadian students at the school reacted nervously to the Trump administration’s announcement Thursday.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty right now around this situation,” he said. “There’s really no indication of what is coming next.”
Mr. Mete said many students are of the view that the university will pursue some sort of legal action that could forestall the administration’s efforts, but it will be a nervous few months as the situation evolves.
“I love Harvard. These past three years have been amazing. I‘ve been able to meet with professors at the top of their field, as well as other students and friends who push me each day,” he said. “So that makes it even more disappointing to hear that I may not be able to go back to my senior year.”
Ethan Jasny, a fourth-year student from Vancouver, is expecting to graduate next week. He said many of his classmates are worried about what this news will mean for their status, or whether they’ll be able to graduate at all.
“I‘m just really saddened, and I‘m scared for my friends,” Mr. Jasny said. “There’s been all these attacks on Harvard and threats to revoke funding, but preventing internationals from attending would be, I think, an existential threat to the university.”
He said the news broke as he entered a campus dining hall at lunch and people were discussing the news in hushed tones. The mood on campus shifted quickly, he said, and foreign students are worried and afraid. Many had been hoping that the sense of threat hanging over the institution would fade, but it hasn’t.
“The coolest thing about Harvard is that it’s such a mixing pot,” Mr. Jasny said. “That’s a huge part of the college experience here, and it will be a really massive shame if that goes.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney is a Harvard graduate, and according to the Harvard Crimson, his daughter, Cleo Carney, is a student at the university.
With a report from The Associated Press