The U.S. Administration has terminated Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, a decision that bars America’s premier institution of higher learning from enrolling foreign students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status.
The decision announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, follows Harvard’s refusal to make some fundamental changes to its educational policy and on-campus practices vis-à-vis student conduct as demanded by President Trump’s administration.
The White House made these demands in the context of anti-Gaza war protests that rocked several top campuses in the United States last year.
Harvard has termed the demands as contrary to the imperatives of fundamental rights and the law.
The administration, on the other hand, says it is Harvard which is not adhering to law.
“Harvard’s leadership has created an unsafe campus environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals, including many Jewish students, and otherwise obstruct its once-venerable learning environment,” Homeland Secretary Noem said in a statement.
The Department alleged that many of these agitators are foreign students. “Harvard’s leadership further facilitated, and engaged in coordinated activity with the CCP, including hosting and training members of a CCP paramilitary group complicit in the Uyghur genocide.”
“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” said Secretary Noem.
In a statement, Harvard said the action was “unlawful.”
“This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission,” the statement said. “We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University – and this nation – immeasurably.”
According to National Public Radio, Harvard has nearly 7,000 international students, which makes up about 27% of the entire student body.
Harvard is an Ivy League institution and has been consistently rated among the elite universities in the world.
The United States is considered one of the major destinations for international students, who, according to several studies, pursue higher education, carry out research and contribute to academic excellence in various fields with inventions and novel ideas.
Last academic year, the U.S. had a total of 1.1 million foreign students, who contributed more than 43 $ billion to the American economy.
