Trump is threatening to block international students from Harvard. Is that legal?
Harvard has only a few more days to meet a deadline set by the Department of Homeland Security to submit detailed records about foreign students or lose a key certification that allows international students to attend the institution.
Whether the institution is going to respond to the demands or pursue litigation remains to be seen.
However, to many, the threat of revoking the certification was a surprise to begin with. The certification isn't frequently taken away, and, when it has, it is due to some sort of fraudulent activity, said Jonathan Grode, managing partner at immigration law firm Green and Spiegel.
" I think in a normal world, there's absolutely no chance that Harvard would lose its SEVP program certification, especially considering its stature within the global perspective as a leading institution in the world," Grode said.
A Harvard spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment about whether the institution had responded to the department and if it has plans to pursue legal action.
About 27% of Harvard's undergraduate and graduate students are international, according to 2024 to 2025 data .
Specific regulations give the federal government leeway to determine if an institution — in this case, Harvard — is not complying, Grode said.
" Whether or not they're an overreach, a misinterpretation, these are things that the courts would decide," Grode said.
So what does this mean for Harvard?
What is the certification?
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program, also known as SEVP, allows higher education institutions to issue visa application forms to prospective international students after admitting them. The forms are used to apply for a visa to enter the United States.
The certification requirements include that the school is operational and instructing students, has the necessary facilities and adequate finances to operate, provides instruction to a degree or objective and meets state requirements to operate, according to the Department of Homeland Security website .
Institutions are recertified every two years, but can be evaluated at other points in time if they have information suggesting that it isn't complying with regulations.
If the certification is taken away, an institution isn't allowed to enroll international students. Current students would have to choose between transferring to another institution, leaving the U.S., or changing their immigration status, according to the ICE website .
An example of the certification being stripped occurred at Herguan University in California in 2016 after its CEO pleaded guilty to providing fraudulent documents to the Department of Homeland Security, according to East Bay Times .
What is being asked of Harvard?
In a letter to Harvard last week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said having foreign students attend Harvard is a "privilege" and "not a guarantee."
Noem directed Harvard to submit eight pieces of information to the department on or before April 30, 2025. They include:
-
Provide relevant information regarding each student visa holder's known illegal activity, and whether the activity occurred on campus.
-
Provide relevant information regarding each student visa holder's known dangerous or violent activity, and whether the activity occurred on campus.
-
Provide relevant information regarding each student visa holder's known threats to other students or university personnel, and whether the activity occurred on campus.
-
Provide relevant information regarding each student visa holder's known deprivation of rights of other classmates or university personnel, and whether the activity occurred on campus.
-
Provide relevant information on whether any student visa holders have left Harvard University due to dangerous or violent activity or deprivation of rights, and whether the activity occurred on campus.
-
Provide relevant information on whether any student visa holders have had disciplinary actions taken as a result of making threats to other students or populations or participating in protests, which impacted their nonimmigrant student status.
-
Provide relevant information regarding each student visa holder's obstruction of the school's learning environment.
-
Provide relevant information regarding each student visa holder's maintenance of at least the minimum required coursework to maintain nonimmigrant student status.
If Harvard doesn't comply with the request, Noem said it will "be treated as a voluntary withdrawal" and the SEVP certification will be automatically taken away from Harvard without subject to appeal.
The list of eight is "seemingly innocuous," Grode said, adding there is a lot of room for the federal government to determine that the institution didn't respond sufficiently, if they do respond to the demands.
" Harvard could respond ... that we have no knowledge of any of this stuff. To the best of our knowledge, none of this is happening. But what if the administration has a video of a protest, and what if they say that that protest is in support of terrorism, and therefore, because you failed to identify this activity, then you have not responded to this letter truthfully?" Grode said.
A lot of the demands are an attempt by the government to change the way the university functions and its independence, he said.
The requests are part of an "all-out government attack on Harvard," where anything that touches the federal government and the university is being looked at, said Sarah Spreitzer, from the American Council on Education.
Spreitzer said she doesn't see, in the listed regulations, a clear reason why the certification would be taken away.
"If Harvard, for some reason, sees their certification revoked, that's basically limiting the students that they can admit, which starts to walk the line with academic freedom," Spreitzer said.
What can Harvard do?
The letter sent by the Department of Homeland Security last week requires that Harvard respond to their letter by the end of the month.
Harvard could reply without responding to the demands set forth by the department and legally challenge it, Grode said.
If the department does take away the certification, they have to provide Harvard with a notice of their intent to withdraw it.
Harvard would then have 30 days to respond and could seek an injunction to temporarily stop it from occurring and challenge it in court, Grode said.
Harvard is already in the process of suing the Trump administration after it froze $2.2 billion in multi-year grants. The institution is arguing that its constitutional rights have been violated.
The federal freeze came hours after Harvard rejected demands from the Trump administration, claiming that the demands by the federal government went beyond its authority.
"Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government's terms as an agreement in principle," a letter from two attorneys representing the school read.
More higher ed
Read the original article on MassLive .
