Harvard cautions foreign students over US airports and social media
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Harvard University staff advised international students to be cautious about social media posts.
PHOTO: AFP
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BOSTON - Harvard University staff advised international students to be cautious about social media posts and warned some groups against arriving at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
Representatives from Harvard’s international office and a Harvard Law School immigration support group held a call on July 3 to provide guidance to foreign students after the university won a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s efforts to block its ability to enrol such individuals.
The Harvard administrators cautioned students that State Department officials have the ability to review social media accounts for student visa applicants, while US Customs and Border Protection can examine personal electronic devices and reject entry based on their contents, according to students who participated, asking not to be identified because the call was private.
The Harvard representatives said it is not clear whether this assessment is done by people or artificial intelligence and what exactly constitutes a red flag, although pro-Palestinian, anti-Semitic or posts derogatory of the US appear to be a focus, according to the students.
Previous interactions with law enforcement, including minor infractions, will also attract attention. The Harvard representatives cautioned that wiping devices clean risks inviting suspicion, according to the students.
The hosts of the call included Ms Maureen Martin, Harvard’s director of immigration services, and Mr Jason Corral, a staff attorney at Harvard Law School’s immigration and refugee clinic, the students said. A representative for Harvard’s international office declined to comment.
The Harvard representatives advised Iranians and Chinese nationals studying in particular fields – including science, technology, engineering and mathematics as well as anything related to artificial intelligence – to exercise particular caution when travelling, according to the students.
Iranians specifically have faced more scrutiny at Logan Airport and should fly into New York’s John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport instead, Mr Corral said on the call, according to the students.
It is not clear if other international students would face smoother immigration processes at other airports, but several participants said they walked away from the call with the understanding that JFK, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport may be better options than Boston.
Ms Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born Harvard researcher, was stopped by immigration officials at Logan Airport in February on her return from France and accused of attempting to smuggle frog embryos into the country
A representative for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which oversees Logan Airport, referred all questions to Harvard.
The White House has made Harvard its primary target in its mission to reshape higher education. In addition to the attempted crackdown on international student enrolment, the Trump administration has cancelled more than US$2.6 billion (S$3.2 billion) in research funding for Harvard and threatened its tax exempt status.
The government initially accused the school of fostering anti-Semitism, but the attack has since broadened to include accusations of political bias and criticism of diversity initiatives in hiring and admissions.
It is not clear if Harvard students are being treated differently than those at other universities. The Trump administration is appealing against the injunction over its ban on Harvard’s international student enrolment. BLOOMBERG
