US gives Harvard 72 hours to provide information on student 'violent activity'

The U.S. government has given Harvard University 72 hours to provide information on " violent " activities and protests involving its students if it wants to reinstate its foreign enrollment program, which was revoked today by the Trump administration.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem told the institution in a letter that it could reinstate its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification if it met a series of requirements within 72 hours.

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Among other things, DHS is asking the prestigious academic institution to provide videos, images, or audio of “ illegal ” and “ violent ” protests and activities that have taken place on or off campus in the past five years and in which students with J1 and F visas have participated.

Noem emphasized that this is “a clear message to Harvard and all universities that the Trump administration will enforce the law and eradicate the evils of antisemitism and anti-Americanism in society and on campus.”

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This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.

It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments... pic.twitter.com/12hJWd1J86

— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 22, 2025

REGISTRATION OF FOREIGN STUDENTS PROHIBITED

In a statement released this morning, the DHS specified that Harvard “can no longer enroll foreign students and current students must transfer or lose their legal status,” alleging that the university has allowed “anti-American and pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals, including many Jewish students.”

The revocation of its ability to enroll foreign students escalates tensions between the government and the university , which sued the Republican administration last April to recover its federal funding , which had been frozen for allegedly engaging in anti-Semitic behavior.

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Harvard is one of the universities - along with Columbia and Princeton , among others - that have seen their funding threatened by reports from the ' Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism ', created by Trump , for applying 'affirmative action' policies . or for not accommodating what the Trump administration calls “diversity of ideas.”

Trump 's accusations of anti-Semitism refer primarily to the pro-Palestinian protests that took place last year at Columbia University in New York, which spread to other US universities.

(With information from EFE)