The federal government has blocked Harvard University’s ability to welcome foreign students as the university resists President Donald Trump’s popular and constitutionally mandated policy of ending racial favoritism in government-funded schools.
“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” said a statement from Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. She added:
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. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.
The cut-off is also intended to help end Harvard’s policy of racial favoritism when selecting American students.
If continued, the policy will open up an additional 1,000 slots for American students each year.
To stay in the United States, foreign students need F-1 visas and to be enrolled in the “Student and Exchange Visitor (SEVIS) program. The SEVIS enrollment also allows them to get “Optional Practical Training” work permits for up to three years. The work permits are used by foreign students to get jobs at major U.S. companies, often via ethnic hiring networks.
Roughly one-quarter of Harvard’s students are foreigners, and they are invited to attend because they help Harvard and its high-status students gain international influence. The foreign students pay higher out-of-state tuition fees, but the money is unimportant because the university has about $50 billion in assets.
The DHS statement said:
On April 16, 2025, Secretary Noem demanded Harvard provide information about the criminality and misconduct of foreign students on its campus. Secretary Noem warned refusal to comply with this lawful order would result in SEVP termination.
This action comes after DHS terminated $2.7 million in DHS grants for Harvard last month.
Harvard University brazenly refused to provide the required information requested and ignored a follow up request from the Department’s Office of General Council. Secretary Noem is following through on her promise to protect students and prohibit terrorist sympathizers from receiving benefits from the U.S. government.
The DHS letter also listed the government’s concerns about the universities’ policies of tolerating violence and discrimination, and its cooperation with the Chinese government:
Facts about Harvard’s toxic campus climate:
A joint-government task force found that Harvard has failed to confront pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus.
Jewish students on campus were subject to pervasive insults, physical assault, and intimidation, with no meaningful response from Harvard’s leadership.
A protester charged for his role in the assault of a Jewish student on campus was chosen by the Harvard Divinity School to be the Class Marshal for commencement.
Harvard’s own 2025 internal study on anti-Semitism revealed that almost 60% of Jewish students reported experiencing “discrimination, stereotyping, or negative bias on campus due to [their] views on current events.”
In one instance, a Jewish student speaker at a conference had planned to tell the story of his Holocaust survivor grandfather finding refuge in Israel. Organizers told the student the story was not “tasteful” and laughed at him when he expressed his confusion. They said the story would have justified oppression.
Meanwhile, Pro-Hamas student groups that promoted antisemitism after the October 7 attacks remained recognized and funded.
The letter also detailed concerns about crime, discrimination, and collaboration with China’s government:
Instead of protecting its students, Harvard has let crime rates skyrocket, enacted racist DEI practices, and accepted boatloads of cash from foreign governments and donors.
Crime rates at Harvard increased by 55% from 2022 to 2023.
From 2022 to 2023 aggravated assaults increased 295% and robberies increased 560%
Harvard has adopted race-conscious hiring policies, potentially in violation of civil rights law.
Harvard Received $151 Million From Foreign Governments Since January 2020 — making up more than 13 percent of the total $1.1 billion received from foreign donors over the same period.
Harvard hosted and trained members of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a CCP paramilitary group complicit in the Uyghur genocide, even after its 2020 designation on the U.S. Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals List, with engagements continuing as recently as 2024.
Harvard researchers collaborated with China-based academics on projects funded by an Iranian government agent and partnered with Chinese universities tied to military advancements, including aerospace and optics research, using U.S. Department of Defense funds.
Harvard partnered with individuals linked to China’s defense-industrial base, including conducting robotics research with military applications.
