The United States government has threatened to ban Harvard University from enrolling foreign students after the institution refused to comply with demands from President Donald Trump’s administration.
As punishment for refusing to adhere to the government’s order, Trump has also threatened to remove Harvard’s valuable tax exemption, which could cost the university millions of dollars each year.
This new threat comes after Trump froze $2 billion in Federal funds for Harvard after the elite school rejected a list of about 10 demands from the White House, which demanded that the oldest university in the US make changes to hiring, admissions, and teaching practices to help fight antisemitism on campus.
The president, who launched a renewed attack on the university on Thursday, faulted the institution for disobeying the government, saying it could “no longer be considered even a decent place of learning”.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has asked for records on what she called the “illegal and violent” activities of its foreign student visa-holders.
The new request from Noem said the institution would lose the “privilege of enrolling foreign students” if it did not comply with the demand for records.
Harvard earlier said it had taken many steps to address antisemitism, and that demands were an effort to regulate the university’s “intellectual conditions”.
“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a message on Monday to the Harvard community.
In response to the tax exemption, which was reported to be enacted in no time by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Harvard said there is “no legal basis” to remove its tax exemption.
According to the school management, “such an unprecedented action from Trump’s administration would endanger its ability to carry out its educational mission”.
