April 17 (UPI) — The Trump administration has threatened to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, ramping up conflict between the institution and Washington.
It’s the latest in a series of incidents between the Ivy League school and the administration centering on accusations of anti-Semitism and discrimination at Harvard.
Harvard has said it has taken numerous steps to address alleged anti-Semitism and called demands from the administration bordering on overstepping its authority to regulate the university’s “intellectual conditions.”
“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in an online message and pledged to do more to combat potential discrimination.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on. Wednesday sent a letter to Harvard warning the institution that its ability to accept international students is “contingent upon” complying with federal immigration law under Title 8.
“It’s a privilege to have foreign students attend Harvard,” she wrote. “Not a guarantee.”
Noem said the school has created a hostile learning environment for Jewish students because of its “failure to condemn anti-Semitism.”
All schools in the United States must be certified as part of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program to host international students.
Homeland Security also announced that Noem canceled two grants to Harvard worth more than $2.7 million.
A DHS press release declared the institution “unfit to be entrusted with taxpayer dollars.”
It’s the latest in a series of threats by the Trump administration to target federal funding for institutions of higher education for refusing to acquiesce to his demands.
Harvard and other schools rely heavily on funding from international students to maintain their “substantial endowment,” Noem said in her letter.
