Trump administration threatens Harvard's foreign enrolment, tax-exempt status

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 10:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Harvard University volition suffer its quality to enrol overseas students if it does not conscionable demands from the Trump medication to stock accusation connected immoderate visa holders, marking the government's latest escalation against the acquisition institution.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem besides announced connected Wednesday the termination of 2 DHS grants totalling much than $2.7 cardinal US to Harvard.

Noem said she wrote a missive to Harvard demanding records connected what she called the "illegal and convulsive activities" of Harvard's overseas pupil visa holders by April 30.

"And if Harvard cannot verify it is successful afloat compliance with its reporting requirements, the assemblage volition suffer the privilege of enrolling overseas students," Noem said successful a statement.

A Harvard spokesperson said the assemblage was alert of Noem's missive "regarding assistance cancellations and scrutiny of overseas pupil visas."

The spokesperson said the assemblage stood by its connection earlier successful the week to "not surrender its independency oregon relinquish its law rights" portion saying it volition comply with the law.

Conflict implicit protestation activity

U.S. President Donald Trump's medication has threatened universities with national backing cuts implicit pro-Palestinian field protests against U.S. state Israel's devastating subject battle connected Gaza aft a deadly October 2023 onslaught by Palestinian Hamas militants.

Trump casts the protesters arsenic overseas argumentation threats who are antisemitic and sympathetic to Hamas. Protesters, including immoderate Jewish groups, accidental the Trump medication wrongly conflates their advocacy for Palestinian rights and disapproval of Israel's actions successful Gaza with enactment for extremism and antisemitism.

WATCH | Debunking immoderate field protestation claims (2024):

The Trump medication is besides attempting to deport immoderate overseas protesters and has revoked hundreds of visas crossed the country.

Harvard has antecedently said it worked to combat antisemitism and different prejudice connected its field portion preserving world freedoms and the close to protest.

The Trump medication said precocious past period it was reviewing $9 cardinal US successful national contracts and grants to Harvard and aboriginal called for restrictions — including a disguise prohibition and removal of diversity, equity and inclusion programs — to beryllium enactment successful spot for the assemblage to proceed receiving national money.

Harvard connected Monday rejected galore demands that it said would cede power to the government. The Trump medication subsequently said it was freezing $2.3 cardinal US successful funding.

Trump besides threatened connected Tuesday to portion Harvard of its tax-exempt status. CNN reported connected Wednesday the U.S. Internal Revenue Service was making plans to rescind the tax-exempt presumption of Harvard and that a last determination was expected soon.

Harvard said determination was nary ineligible ground to rescind its tax-exempt status, saying specified an enactment volition beryllium unprecedented, volition diminish its fiscal assistance for students and volition pb to abandonment of immoderate captious aesculapian probe programs.

Researchers consciousness the pinch

Since the extremity of the Second World War, the authorities has identified strategical areas of probe successful nationalist health, subject oregon different areas. Researchers past respond by proposing projects, of which little than the apical 10 per cent whitethorn person national funding. 

For decades, universities person provided infrastructure and medication for these associated projects. The researchers are astir often autarkic of the colleges, with nary teaching duties oregon connections to the pupil authorities that person riled universities' relationships with the national government.

LISTEN | Why published writer Jason Stanley headed northbound from Yale: 

Harvard idiosyncratic Dr. Donald Ingber, who works wherever medicine and engineering meet, told Reuters helium has seen 2 authorities probe contracts worthy implicit $20 cardinal US halted since the Trump medication announced its $2.3 cardinal backing freeze.

According to Ingber, 1 focused connected assessing and processing drugs to combat radiation harm successful humans. The enactment tin beryllium the ground for drugs to assistance crab patients header with the broadside effects of radiation therapy, and it could beryllium utilized to support soldiers and civilians alike successful the lawsuit of atomic warfare oregon during a atomic works explosion.

Ingber besides said helium knows of post-doc applicants who are present turning down probe positions successful the U.S. that they had accepted due to the fact that they are acrophobic to unrecorded successful the U.S. arsenic foreigners. They are turning to China oregon Europe to transportation retired their work.

"We were the magnet for the champion young scientists astir the satellite to travel and prosecute innovation," Ingber said.

WATCH | Columbia pupil fights deportation order:

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said that the backing frost connected Harvard and Columbia "is motivated by 1 happening and 1 happening only: tackling antisemitism."

"Antisemitic protestors inflicting unit and taking implicit full assemblage field buildings is not lone a crude show of bigotry against Jewish Americans, but wholly disruptive to the intelligence enquiry and probe that national backing of colleges is meant to support," Desai said.

Human rights advocates person raised escaped code and world state concerns implicit the crackdown by the government.

The Trump medication has besides frozen oregon cancelled immoderate backing for universities similar Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Cornell and Northwestern.