In the latest escalation against Harvard University, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that if the university does not accept Trump administration requests, it will lose its authority to enroll international students.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, also announced on Wednesday, April 16, the termination of two DHS grants worth more than $2.7 million to Harvard.
Noem stated that she sent a letter to Harvard demanding records on what she called the "illegal and violent activities" of Harvard's international student visa holders by April 30.
"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 in a statement.
President Donald Trump's administration has threatened universities with federal funding cuts in response to pro-Palestine campus protests against US ally Israel's devastating and genocidal military offensive on Gaza following a fatal October 2023 attack by Hamas, a militant resistance organisation that administers the Gaza Strip territory of Palestine, The Times of India reports.
Trump portrays the demonstrators as foreign policy dangers who are antisemitic and sympathetic to Hamas. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, claim that the Trump administration misinterprets their support for Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza as support for terrorism and antisemitism.
The Trump administration announced late last month that it was reviewing $9 billion in federal contracts and grants for Harvard, and later called for restrictions, such as a mask ban and the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion programmes, to be imposed in order for the university to continue receiving federal funds.
Trump also threatened to deprive Harvard of its tax-exempt status. CNN reported on Wednesday that the Internal Revenue Service was planning to remove Harvard's tax-exempt status, with a final judgement likely soon.
These actions come after Harvard rejected several demands that it claimed would hand over control to the government on Monday. The Trump administration later announced that it was blocking $2.3 billion in financing.
The Trump administration has also frozen or cancelled funding for colleges such as Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, and Northwestern.
