Noem Threatens Harvard’s Foreign Student Enrollment Over Disciplinary Data

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, backed by the Trump administration, has threatened to revoke Harvard University's ability to enroll foreign students by removing it from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) unless the university provides records on international students allegedly involved in activities deemed antisemitic or supportive of terrorism. These actions come after Harvard refused administration demands to more harshly police pro-Palestinian protests and implement externally approved 'viewpoint diversity' audits, prompting the White House to freeze over $2.2 billion in federal funding and threaten to strip the university's tax-exempt status. Noem also canceled $2.7 million in DHS grants to Harvard, accusing the school of fostering a hostile environment for Jewish students and endangering national security. Harvard has responded by reaffirming its commitment to institutional independence, legal compliance, and constitutional rights. International students constitute about 27% of Harvard’s student body, making the threatened measures significant for the university’s operations. The Trump administration has taken similar punitive actions against other universities over alleged tolerance of antisemitism amid a wave of pro-Palestinian campus protests.