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The Trump administration has barred Harvard College from enrolling worldwide college students, in a significant escalation of its assaults on one in all America’s most prestigious Ivy League colleges.
Secretary of homeland safety Kristi Noem despatched a letter to Harvard on Thursday telling its administration that the college’s pupil and change customer programme certification had been revoked, “efficient instantly”.
The choice comes amid a deepening crackdown in latest months by US President Donald Trump on elite establishments which he accuses of selling “woke” ideology and failing to sort out antisemitism.
In a publish on X that revealed her letter, Noem wrote: “It’s a privilege, not a proper, for universities to enrol overseas college students and profit from their larger tuition funds to assist pad their multibillion-dollar endowments.
“Let this function a warning to all universities and tutorial establishments throughout the nation.”
The transfer would have an effect on the admission of scholars for the approaching tutorial 12 months, however Noem additionally mentioned the ban meant Harvard’s nearly 6,800 present worldwide college students, representing greater than 27 per cent of this 12 months’s consumption, should change their enrolment to different universities.
Harvard mentioned the administration’s transfer was “illegal” and that it was “totally dedicated” to sustaining its capacity to host worldwide college students.
“We’re working shortly to supply steering and assist to members of our group. This retaliatory motion threatens severe hurt to the Harvard group and our nation, and undermines Harvard’s tutorial and analysis mission.”
The brand new assault on Harvard comes amid an escalating confrontation between Ivy League colleges and the Trump administration, which has slashed billions of {dollars} of federal funding for the establishments.
Critics of the president say the strikes towards US universities quantity to a crackdown on free speech and tutorial freedom. Harvard has sued the administration for halting greater than $2bn in funding to it.
Noem accused Harvard of making a “hostile” surroundings for Jewish college students — an assault levelled by the administration towards universities that had been the scene of pro-Palestinian protests after Hamas’s October 7 2023 assault on Israel and the nation’s subsequent offensive in Gaza.
The homeland safety secretary mentioned the Trump administration would search all data of overseas college students’ unlawful, harmful or violent exercise, together with cases of scholars making threats or disciplinary motion taken towards them.
The bar on worldwide college students will even spark concern for the 1.1mn foreigners enrolled in American universities — of whom the most important share come from India and China — in addition to others hoping to review within the US.
Overseas college students’ charges are a major supply of economic assist for US universities.
Noem demanded final month that Harvard submit detailed data on its overseas college students or be stripped of its proper to enrol them. Harvard mentioned on the time that it will “adjust to the legislation and anticipate the administration to do the identical”.
Will Creeley, authorized director of the Basis for Particular person Rights and Expression, which has previously criticised Harvard over free speech, known as Noem’s motion “retaliatory and illegal”.
He mentioned: “Little is extra un-American than a federal bureaucrat demanding {that a} personal college show its ideological fealty to the federal government beneath ache of punishment.”
