Trump admin threatens to withdraw Harvard from Student and Exchange Visitor Program: Privilege to have foreign students not a guarantee

The Trump administration threatened on Wednesday to withdraw Harvard University from the federal program that administers student visas if it does not comply with a records request by the end of the month. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that the Ivy League school provide DHS with information related to potential “illegal” and “violent” activities Harvard foreign exchange students have engaged in as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on antisemitism in higher education, in a letter to a school official obtained by The Post. “It is a privilege to have foreign students attend Harvard University, not a guarantee,” Noem wrote in the missive to the university’s director of immigration services. “The United States Government understands that Harvard University relies heavily on foreign student funding from over 10,000 foreign students to build and maintain their substantial endowment,” the DHS chief added.“At the same time, your institution has created a hostile learning environment for Jewish students due to Harvard’s failure to condemn antisemitism.” Earlier this week, Harvard said it would not comply with demands issued by the Trump administration aimed at curtailing antisemitism on campus, resulting in the White House freezing $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contracts. Noem, on Wednesday, also announced DHS canceled two grants from the department to the university, totalling another $2.7 million and declared Harvard “unfit” to receive taxpayer money.“Harvard bending the knee to antisemitism — driven by its spineless leadership — fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security,” she said in a statement.

“With anti-American, pro-Hamas ideology poisoning its campus and classrooms, Harvard’s position as a top institution of higher learning is a distant memory.America demands more from universities entrusted with taxpayer dollars.”Noem threa...