The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is terminating Harvard University’s participation in the student visa program over what it describes as “pro-terrorist conduct” during campus protests, Fox News Digital has learned.
The decision marks a significant penalty, stemming from Harvard’s alleged refusal to provide DHS with behavioral records related to international students holding visas. “This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” said Secretary Kristi Noem.
“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,” she added.
“They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country,” she noted further.
Harvard will be prohibited from enrolling new international students for the 2025–2026 academic year, and current foreign students must either transfer to another institution or risk losing their legal residency status in the U.S. before the new academic year begins, Fox News reported.
“As a result of your brazen 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 rhetoric, and employs racist ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ policies, you have lost this privilege,” Noem wrote in a letter to Maureen Martin, the university’s director of immigration services.
Noem gave Harvard 72 hours to provide the requested information to regain its visa program for the upcoming school year. She called the move the “direct result of Harvard’s epic failure to comply with simple reporting requirements.”
The requested records include video footage of protest activity involving international students and the disciplinary histories of all visa-holding students over the past five years.
Noem said last month that she had asked for records concerning international students enrolled at Harvard, but the university’s legal team failed to provide sufficient information. When the DHS general counsel followed up, Harvard responded with what Noem described as an “insufficient, incomplete, and unacceptable” submission.
“Consequences must follow to send a clear signal to Harvard and all universities that want to enjoy the privilege of enrolling foreign students, that the Trump administration will enforce the law and root out the evils of antisemitism in society and campuses,” Noem said.
The requested records also include any footage or documentation of illegal, dangerous, or violent actions involving student visa holders, as well as records of threats or violations of the rights of other students or university staff, Fox reported.
