Trump admin demands Harvard provide records of international student ‘illegal activities’
Harvard University continues to be in hot water with the Trump administration after the Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday it was requiring the institution to submit detailed records of foreign students visa holders' "illegal and violent activities" before the end of the month or face the immediate loss of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification.
The Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also stated that two grants amounting to over $2.7 million to the institution have been canceled due to it being "unfit to be entrusted with taxpayer dollars."
The news comes after Harvard University rejected the Trump administration's demands to overhaul its leadership structure, admissions and hiring, as the government threatens to pull nearly $9 billion in funding.
In response, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard University. The Trump administration has also requested that a top Internal Revenue Service (IRS) official rescind Harvard University's tax-exempt status.
Harvard , along with hundreds of other institutions across the country, has also been dealing with an onslaught of abrupt student visa revocations.
The two grants the Department of Homeland Security canceled at Harvard funded a $1,934,902 Blue Campaign Program Evaluation and Violence Advisement grant and an $800,303 Implementation Science for Targeted Violence Prevention grant.
Noem said both grants "undermine America's values and security."
She said the second grant "branded conservatives as far-right dissidents in a shockingly skewed study."
Noem repeated concerns that have been brought up by other Trump administration officials — that Harvard has been "bending the knee to antisemitism."
"With a $53.2 billion endowment, Harvard can fund its own chaos — DHS won't. And if Harvard cannot verify it is in full compliance with its reporting requirements, the university will lose the privilege of enrolling foreign students," Noem said.
