On Thursday, the Trump administration escalated its dispute with Harvard by cancelling the university’s permission to enroll international students.
“I am writing to inform you that, effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked,” wrote Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber.
She announced the revocation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Visa (SEVIS) certification, which allows foreign students to study in the United States.
“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,” Noem wrote on social media.
“Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions in the country,” she added.
Noem accuses the university of “fostering violence, anti-semitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.”
“The government’s action is unlawful. We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to welcome our international students and scholars, who come from more than 140 countries and enrich the University—and this nation—immeasurably,” a spokesman for Harvard responded in a statement.
“This retaliatory action threatens to seriously harm the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission,” the statement added.
In the 2024–2025 academic year, 27.2% of students—nearly 6,800 of Harvard’s 30,000 students—are international, according to Reuters.
The new measure is part of the Trump administration’s relentless fight against the country’s universities, which it accuses of allowing antisemitism on campuses following last year’s pro-Palestinian protests. It also seeks to end diversity programs designed to address the marginalization of minorities.
Unlike universities like Columbia, which have agreed to abide by the Republican administration’s new policy, Harvard sued the administration a month ago for attempting to impose changes to its curriculum, admissions policies, and hiring practices.
“Privilege, not a right”
“Nobody knows” what this will mean for already enrolled international students, said American student Alice Goyer.
“Everyone is panicking a little bit,” at the news, which has triggered “messages from a lot of international friends, and I think everyone is just… nobody knows,” she said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) initially sent Harvard a letter on April 16 demanding that the university provide information about international students’ activities on campus, including participation in protests.
The university, according to The Harvard Crimson, partially released the disciplinary records of international students that Washington had requested.
Last week, the Republican administration announced a new $450 million cut in federal grants, adding to the freeze of another $2.2 billion, out of a total of $9 billion under review. In early May, he excluded the prestigious center from receiving any new federal aid.
With an endowment of $53.2 billion in 2024, Harvard is the wealthiest institution of higher education in the United States.
“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,” Noem said.
Trump recently described Harvard as a “far-left, anti-Semitic institution,” a “progressive disaster,” and a “threat to democracy.”