Trump administration revokes Harvard's right to enrol international students

The Trump administration has revoked Harvard University's certification to enrol international students, escalating a growing confrontation between the federal government and the Ivy League institution.

The decision, which effectively suspends Harvard’s participation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, was confirmed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Caliber.Az reports via American media.

The move comes as part of a broader standoff between Harvard and the Trump administration’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which has issued a series of demands that the university has refused to meet.

Among the demands were strict reforms to Harvard’s hiring and admissions processes, including subjecting faculty members’ ideological positions to government-approved audits. Harvard’s resistance prompted the administration to slash over $2 billion in federal research funding — a move the university is now challenging in court.

“This action should be a warning to every university and academic institution in the United States,” Noem wrote in a tweet confirming the revocation of Harvard’s certification. In a separate statement, she accused the university of “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party.”

The implications for Harvard are serious. The university enrols nearly 6,800 international students out of a total student body of 24,596. Without federal certification, the school cannot enrol new international students, and those currently enrolled may be forced to transfer or risk losing their legal visa status.

In a statement, Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton condemned the administration’s decision as "unlawful."

“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,” Newton said.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that Harvard’s decertification stemmed from its failure to provide adequate information related to “the criminality and misconduct” of foreign students.

According to DHS, Harvard submitted partial data on April 30, but Secretary Noem claimed the information was “insufficient.” In a letter sent on May 22, she said subsequent efforts to obtain more detailed records were also unsatisfactory.

To restore its eligibility to enrol international students by the fall semester, the administration has demanded that Harvard turn over within 72 hours all records, including audio and video files, involving dangerous, threatening, or illegal activities by international students enrolled over the past five years. The university must also submit all footage of protest activity involving international students on its Cambridge, Massachusetts campus during that same period, the letter stated.

By Tamilla Hasanova