Trump admin terminates Harvard’s student visa program
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made the decision to terminate Harvard University’s student visa program due to what they claim is “pro-terrorist conduct” at campus protests. This drastic action comes as a result of Harvard’s alleged refusal to provide behavioral records of student visa holders as requested by DHS.
According to Fox News Digital, Harvard will no longer be able to enroll foreign students for the upcoming academic year, and existing foreign students must either transfer to another institution or risk losing their legal status to reside in the United States. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem sent a letter to Maureen Martin, Harvard’s director of immigration services, citing the university’s non-compliance with their requests as the reason for the termination of the visa program.
The letter from Secretary Noem stated that Harvard’s failure to provide requested information, perpetuation of an unsafe campus environment hostile to Jewish students, promotion of pro-Hamas rhetoric, and implementation of what DHS deems as racist “diversity, equity, and inclusion” policies led to the revocation of the visa program. Harvard was given a 72-hour window to provide the required information in order to potentially regain the visa program for the next academic year.
The requested records include footage of protest activities involving students on visas, as well as disciplinary records of all visa-holding students over the past five years. Despite repeated requests from DHS, Harvard reportedly provided an insufficient and incomplete response, leading to the ultimate decision to terminate the visa program.
Harvard has not yet issued a response to these developments. In a previous move to safeguard foreign students’ enrollment amidst threats from the Trump administration, Harvard had allowed them to accept admission to both Harvard and a foreign university as a backup plan. However, with the termination of the visa program, at least a dozen Harvard students have had their authorization to study in the U.S. revoked due to their involvement in campus protest activities.
The Trump administration has also frozen a significant amount of federal funding to Harvard, primarily allocated for research purposes, and has initiated investigations into various departments of the university. The administration claims that Harvard has failed to address campus anti-Semitism and eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed Congress that the State Department has likely revoked “thousands” of student visas and is prepared to revoke more as needed. He emphasized that a visa is a privilege, not a right, and that individuals disrupting higher education facilities will face consequences.
This crackdown on university policies comes in the wake of widespread pro-Gaza student protests and encampments at universities across the country. These protests have been aimed at pressuring university administrations to divest from Israel in response to Israel’s military campaign against Hamas following the October 7 attacks.
