Daijiworld Media Network- Washington

Washington DC, Apr 17: The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a warning to Harvard University, threatening to revoke its ability to enroll international students unless it provides detailed records of foreign student visa holders involved in "illegal and violent" activities. The university has been given a deadline of April 30, to comply.

This move follows a series of actions by the Trump administration against the prestigious institution. The DHS announced the cancellation of over USD 2.7 million worth of grants to Harvard, including the USD 800,303 Implementation Science for Targeted Violence Prevention grant and the USD 1.9 million Blue Campaign Program Evaluation and Violence Advisement grant.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem expressed her discontent, stating that the university’s leadership had fueled extremist sentiments, including antisemitism, on its campus following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. She accused the university of enabling a climate of hate and violence, thus jeopardizing national security. Noem emphasized that, with Harvard's USD 53.2 billion endowment, the university should be responsible for its actions rather than relying on taxpayer-funded resources.

The warning to revoke Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification could have severe consequences for the 6,793 international students at the university, who represent 27.2% of its student body for the 2024-25 academic year. If the university fails to demonstrate compliance with federal reporting requirements, it could lose the ability to enroll foreign students in the future.