The move marks an escalation in the administration’s fight against the college.
The Trump administration has barred Harvard from allowing international students to enroll at the university, after the school lost its ability to use the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
The SEVP program allows for noncitizens to study at the university under a specific visa.
“As a result of your refusal to comply with multiple requests to provide the Department of Homeland Security pertinent information while perpetuating an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students, promotes pro-Hamas sympathies, and employs racist ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ policies, you have lost this privilege,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a letter to the university.
Harvard said the move by the Trump administration is not legal.
“The government’s action is unlawful. We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University – and this nation – immeasurably. We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community,” the school said in a statement on Thursday. “This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”
Harvard’s International Office put out a statement alerting students about the situation and advised them to wait for more information.
“Harvard is committed to maintaining our ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University and this nation,” it said. “More information and updates will be provided as they become available.”
Noem wrote to Harvard in April requesting a tranche of information be given to DHS in order for the school to retain its SEVP status.
According to the letter, she asked Harvard to give information over on student visa holder’s “known” illegally activity; violent activity; threats to students or faculty; disciplinary actions taken as a result of being involved in a protest; information on whether the student obstructed the school’s learning environment; and the coursework that the student is taking to maintain the visa status.
Noem said the school did not provide adequate information in response, and that it is a “privilege, not a right” for students to study at American universities.
“The revocation of your Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification means that Harvard is prohibited from having any aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status for the 2025-2026 academic school year.,” she writes. “This decertification also means that existing aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status must transfer to another university in order to maintain their nonimmigrant status.”
Noem said that “consequences must follow to send a clear signal to Harvard and all universities that want to enjoy the privilege of enrolling foreign students, that the Trump Administration will enforce the law and root out the evils of anti-Americanism and antisemitism in society and campuses.”
In a statement to ABC News, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said that Harvard is now facing the “consequences of their actions” and repeated that having international students enrolled at their school is a “privilege.”
“Harvard has turned their once-great institution into a hotbed of anti-American, antisemitic, pro-terrorist agitators. They have repeatedly failed to take action to address the widespread problems negatively impacting American students and now they must face the consequences of their actions. Enrolling foreign students is a privilege, not a right,” Jackson said.