Homeland Security blocks Harvard's ability to enroll international students
Published on: May 23, 2025 08:30 (EAT)
People exit Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June 29, 2023. The US Department of Education has opened a civil rights investigation into Harvard University's policy of giving family members of former students and donors preference in admissions decisions, documents showed on July 25, 2023. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP)
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students, the Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the department to terminate the Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, the department said in a statement.
The move means Harvard can no longer enroll international students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status, it said.
"This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus," Noem said. "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 University and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
