The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has revoked certification of Harvard University’s foreign student admissions program, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced on social media platform X on May 22.
The decision prohibits Harvard from enrolling international students through its Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” Noem wrote.
“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law.”
Noem’s May 22 statement said a combination of infractions by Harvard, including collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and fostering an atmosphere of “pro-terrorist conduct from students on its campus,” led to this action.
The revocation also means that existing foreign students must transfer to another school or lose their legal status, the statement said, noting that many of the agitators who harassed Jewish students, hosted and trained members of the CCP, and were complicit in the Uyghur genocide were from other nations.
Harvard University called the federal government’s action in this matter unlawful.
“We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University—and this nation—immeasurably,” Harvard University spokesman Jason Newton said in an email to The Epoch Times.
“We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community. This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”
The DHS terminated $2.7 million in grants to Harvard in April. Noem said university administrators refused to comply with her April 16 demands requesting information about “criminality and misconduct” of foreign students on its campus.
The fight between the federal government and Harvard began earlier in 2025 after President Donald Trump issued executive orders—citing the 1964 Civil Rights Act—prohibiting campus anti-Semitism and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in hiring, employee training, student admissions, and instruction.
Harvard President Alan Garber announced that he would not comply, prompting the Trump administration to freeze more than $2.2 billion in grants and contracts.
Harvard then filed a federal lawsuit seeking to unfreeze the money and deem the federal government’s actions unconstitutional. Trump responded by threatening to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced that Harvard would not receive future federal grants unless the school changed its management.
Noem’s involvement has escalated this conflict to a new level, and the Trump administration is now publicizing examples of the school’s alleged DEI practices, anti-Semitism, and collaboration with the CCP.
“Harvard researchers collaborated with China-based academics on projects funded by an Iranian government agent and partnered with Chinese universities tied to military advancements, including aerospace and optics research, using U.S. Department of Defense funds,” Noem’s May 22 statement reads.
“Harvard partnered with individuals linked to China’s defense-industrial base, including conducting robotics research with military applications.”
Harvard has ample support from the higher education community. More than 600 college and university leaders have signed letters supporting its litigation against the Trump administration.
Steven Pinker, Harvard psychology professor, provided insight on this fight from a tenured faculty member’s point of view. He accused the Trump administration of taking an authoritarian approach, but he also said the argument of ending DEI practices to ensure fairness for all has merit.
While Pinker disagrees with Trump’s attempt to mandate “viewpoint diversity” on campuses, he said he does think that Harvard would benefit by having more politically conservative professors in the political science and social science departments, which would also help promote more thorough peer review efforts and quality control in research.
“Ideology is like breath,” he said during a May 21 talk with Heterodox Academy. “You never smell your own.”
