Trump’s Latest Barb In War With Harvard: No More Foreign Students

The Trump administration revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign students on Thursday as the government and elite university feud over antisemetic incidents on campus.

The Department of Homeland Security notified the university in a letter that its participation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program had been revoked. The move against the university’s foreign exchange program came after days of negotiations over a government request for Harvard records, according to The New York Times.

“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a post on X. “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,” she continued. “Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.”

This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.

It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments… pic.twitter.com/12hJWd1J86

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 22, 2025

The letter bluntly lists the infractions that the Trump administration says Harvard has committed to lose its certification to receive foreign students.

“As a result of your refusal to comply with multiple requests to provide the Department of Homeland Security pertinent information while perpetuating an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students, promotes pro-Hamas sympathies, and employs racist ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ policies, you have lost this privilege,” the letter says.

Last month, Noem requested information from Harvard on foreign students. The administration asked for information that the university has that shows if any student with a visa committed “illegal activity” or “dangerous or violent activity” and whether or not that activity took place on campus, according to a letter from Noem to Harvard.

Homeland Security also requested information on what disciplinary action Harvard has taken “as a result of [visa holders] making threats to other students or populations or participating in protests.”

Harvard rebuffed the requests despite warnings from the Trump administration that its certification to accept foreign students could be revoked. The Trump administration has previously stripped billions in taxpayer-funded grants to the university over its handling of antisemitism on campus.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Senate testimony this week that the Trump administration has likely revoked thousands of visas from foreign students who have disrupted campus or expressed solidarity with terror groups.

“I don’t know the latest count, but we probably have more to do,” said Rubio. “We’re going to continue to revoke the visas of people who are here as guests and are disrupting our higher education facilities.”