President Donald J. Trump today issued a proclamation suspending the entry of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard University.
The directive, effective immediately for six months unless extended, cites a litany of concerns, including Harvard’s alleged failure to report foreign student misconduct, rising crime rates, and extensive financial entanglements with foreign adversaries.
The proclamation, a significant escalation in the administration’s stance on higher education oversight, asserts that admission to the U.S. for educational purposes is a privilege, not a guarantee, and is contingent on institutional adherence to federal law. “Harvard University has failed in this respect, among many others,” the President declared.
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A central point of contention is Harvard’s alleged non-compliance with the Student Exchange Visa Program (SEVP) regulations. The White House states that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has long warned of foreign adversaries exploiting American higher education to steal technical information, leverage research, and spread disinformation. Specifically, the proclamation highlights concerns about the People’s Republic of China utilizing student visa programs for improper purposes and collecting information at elite U.S. universities.
The administration claims Harvard has “refused the recent requests of the DHS for information about foreign students’ ‘known illegal activity,’ ‘known dangerous and violent activity,’ ‘known threats to other students or university personnel,’ [and] ‘known deprivation of rights of other classmates or university personnel.'” According to the proclamation, Harvard provided data on misconduct for only three students, which was deemed “so deficient” that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could not evaluate further actions. This, the President asserts, demonstrates Harvard is either underreporting disciplinary records or not seriously policing its foreign students, directly undermining national security.
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Crime Rates and Foreign Funding Under Scrutiny
The proclamation also points to a reported “drastic” rise in crime rates at Harvard, including violent crime, and alleges that the university has failed to discipline certain conduct violations. While specific numbers for “drastically risen” violent crime were not immediately provided in the proclamation, The Harvard Crimson reported in October 2023 that overall reported crimes at Harvard University increased to 208 in 2022, up from 142 in 2021 and 179 in 2020. Burglary and motor vehicle theft saw substantial increases in 2022.
Furthermore, Harvard’s financial dealings with foreign countries are heavily scrutinized. The proclamation cites The Harvard Crimson, stating the university has received over $150 million in total contributions from foreign governments in the last five years, and over $1 billion from foreign sources overall. Over the last decade, Harvard has reportedly received more than $150 million from China alone.
These funds, the White House alleges, have facilitated activities such as hosting and training members of a Chinese Communist Party paramilitary organization and partnering on research that could advance China’s military modernization, according to a House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party probe.
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Civil Rights and Admissions Discrimination
Finally, the proclamation reiterates concerns about Harvard’s alleged flouting of civil rights. It directly references the landmark Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, which bore Harvard’s name, as evidence of “blatant” discrimination against “disfavored races” in admissions. The President asserts that even after this decision, Harvard continues to deny “hardworking Americans equal opportunities,” instead admitting students from “non-egalitarian nations, including nations that seek the destruction of the United States and its allies, or the extermination of entire peoples.” The Supreme Court, in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, ruled in June 2023 that race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
This presidential action effectively deems Harvard University an “unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers” until it provides the requested information to safeguard national security and the American public. The proclamation authorizes the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to consider revoking visas of current Harvard foreign students and instructs relevant agencies to explore further limitations on Harvard’s participation in the SEVP.
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