DHS Subpoenas Harvard for Foreign Student Information

The Ivy League school hasn’t complied with prior requests leading up to the cancellation of its student visitor and exchange program.

Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on June 8, 2025. Learner Liu/The Epoch Times

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on July 9 that it would force Harvard to comply with a request for information about its student visitor and exchange program.

The administrative subpoenas follow previous “non-coercive requests” for information about foreign students attending Harvard, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a July 9 statement.

“We tried to do things the easy way with Harvard. Now, through their refusal to cooperate, we have to do things the hard way,” she said.

“Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus. If Harvard won’t defend the interests of its students, then we will.”

The federal agency is specifically asking for disciplinary records of foreign students dating back to Jan. 1, 2020.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent the initial request on April 16, warning that her agency would terminate Harvard’s student visitor and exchange program if it refused to comply. She ordered the program’s termination on May 22.

“These subpoenas are the only option left for the Department,” DHS said in the statement.

“Other universities and academic institutions that are asked to submit similar information should take note of Harvard’s actions, and the repercussions, when considering whether or not to comply with similar requests.”

DHS did not detail the next steps in this process beyond the subpoenas.

Failure to comply with an administrative subpoena may pave the way for denial of a license or permit, or a similar adverse administrative decision, according to the Congress.gov website, but in most instances, administrative agencies ultimately rely on the courts to enforce their subpoenas.

The government previously froze billions of dollars in federal funding to Harvard, stating that the Ivy League university violated civil rights laws in allowing the continuance of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and that it failed to combat campus anti-Semitism. Harvard responded with a lawsuit, alleging that the federal government’s actions were unconstitutional and violated free speech.

The government attempted to end the university’s visa program for international students, which resulted in another lawsuit in which a federal judge blocked that executive action. President Donald Trump has also called for revoking Harvard’s tax-exempt status.

“Harvard is committed to following the law, and while the government’s subpoenas are unwarranted, the university will continue to cooperate with lawful requests and obligations,” Jason Newton, the university’s spokesman, said in a July 9 email response to The Epoch Times.

“The administration’s ongoing retaliatory actions come as Harvard continues to defend itself and its students, faculty, and staff against harmful government overreach aimed at dictating whom private universities can admit and hire, and what they can teach. Harvard remains unwavering in its efforts to protect its community and its core principles against unfounded retribution by the federal government.”

The next court hearing in Harvard’s federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over the federal funding cuts is scheduled for July 21.