US subpoenas Harvard for records of foreign student protesters
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US President Donald Trump has waged a political and economic campaign against Harvard University over pro-Palestinian protests by students.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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- US government subpoenaed Harvard for records of students allegedly involved in pro-Palestinian protests labelled anti-Semitic by the Trump administration.
- DHS accuses Harvard of letting foreign students "abuse their visa privileges" by advocating violence and terrorism, demanding records since January 1, 2020.
- The Trump administration has targeted Harvard, cutting US$3.2 billion in funding, for defying oversight on curriculum and student recruitment.
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NEW YORK – The US government said on July 9 that it subpoenaed Harvard University for records linked to students allegedly involved in a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests that the Trump administration labelled anti-Semitic.
Since being sworn in again in January, President Donald Trump has targeted top US universities over claims they are politically biased towards anti-Jewish hate and “woke” politics.
Mr Trump has waged a political and economic campaign against Harvard, stripping it of funds
“After many previous requests to hand over relevant information concerning foreign students, DHS (Department of Homeland Security) will now send subpoenas forcing Harvard to comply,” the DHS said in a statement.
Assistant DHS secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that “Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus”.
The subpoena demands that Harvard turn over “relevant records, communications and other documents relevant to the enforcement of immigration laws since Jan 1, 2020”, according to the statement.
Harvard did not respond to a request for comment.
Harvard, like several other universities, was swept by a wave of student protests
Mr Trump has made the question of student protest, particularly by foreign scholars, a flashpoint political issue.
A proclamation issued by the White House in June sought to bar most new international students at Harvard
Harvard challenged the move in court, and a judge blocked the administration from enforcing the policy.
International students at Harvard, who accounted for 27 per cent of total enrolment in the 2024 to 2025 academic year, are a major source of income for the Ivy League institution.
The government already cut around US$3.2 billion (S$4 billion) of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts, institution from any future federal funding.
Harvard has been at the forefront of Mr Trump’s campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and “viewpoint diversity”.
Unlike Harvard, several top institutions – including New York’s Columbia University – have already bowed to far-reaching demands from the Trump administration. AFP
