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The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday revoked Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, effectively halting the school’s ability to enroll international students. Existing foreign students at Harvard must transfer or risk losing their legal status, according to DHS.
In a letter to Harvard, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem wrote, “It is a privilege to enroll foreign students, and it is also a privilege to employ aliens on campus.” The revocation, she indicated, was a result of the school’s refusal to comply with requests for records; its use of diversity, equity and inclusion policies and its handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus.
Specifically, Noem wrote that the university did not provide DHS with records relevant to “misconduct and other offenses that would render foreign students inadmissible or removable.”
The program Noem invoked, known as SEVP, “collects, maintains, analyzes and provides information so only legitimate foreign students or exchange visitors gain entry to the United States,” according to the DHS website. “SEVP also ensures that the institutions accepting nonimmigrant students are certified and follow the federal rules and regulations that govern them.”
If Harvard would like the opportunity to regain certification, Noem’s letter states, it must give DHS the requested records within 72 hours.
The revocation is the latest escalation in an ongoing effort by the Trump administration to force change at universities around the country, including Harvard.
The Trump administration has cut billions in federal funding to Harvard. Most recently, the Department of Health and Human Services announced this week that it would terminate $60 million in federal grants. The administration has also asked the IRS to revoke the school’s tax-exempt status.
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