The Trump administration has banned Harvard University from accepting international students as part of an escalating confrontation with the Ivy League school, saying thousands of current students will have to transfer to other schools or leave the country.
The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that Harvard created unsafe conditions on its campus by allowing “anti-American and pro-terrorism activists” to attack Jewish students on campus.
Without providing any evidence, Harvard was also accused of having ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
In a statement, the agency said: “This means that Harvard will no longer be eligible to accept international students, and existing international students will be required to transfer or lose their legal status.”
Harvard's campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is home to approximately 6,800 international students, more than a quarter of the university's student body.
Most of them are postgraduate students from over 100 countries.
Harvard has described the measures as illegal and said it is actively working to provide guidance to students.
“These retaliatory actions could cause serious harm to the Harvard community and our country by undermining the University’s academic and research mission,” Harvard said in a statement.
The dispute stems from an April 16 request by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to Harvard to provide information on foreign students that might indicate their involvement in violence or protests that could otherwise lead to their deportation.
In her letter to Harvard on Thursday, Ms. Noem said the school's sanctions were “a sad consequence of Harvard's failure to comply with simple reporting requirements.”
This restriction prohibits Harvard from accepting international students in the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
