Kristi Noem warned American universities on Thursday that Harvard’s fate could soon be theirs.
The Homeland Security secretary issued the stern warning on Thursday after the Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students over its refusal to come to heel.
“This should be a warning to every other university to get your act together,” Noem told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum. “Get your act together, because we are coming to make sure that you are facilitating an environment where students can learn, where they’re safe and that they’re not discriminated against based on their race or their religion.”
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
Noem wrote a two-page letter to Harvard on Thursday informing the university that its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, which allows it to enroll international students, had been revoked.
This means that the 6,800 international students currently enrolled at Harvard—many of whom are set to graduate next week—must transfer to a different school, change their immigration status, or leave the U.S., according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The move is a major escalation in the bitter feud between the Trump administration and Harvard over the Ivy League institution’s defiance of the government’s long list of demands, including changes to its governance, hiring, and admission processes.
In her letter, Noem singled out Harvard’s failure to hand over detailed records of its foreign students, including any misconduct or offenses, as a reason for the revocation of its SEVP certification.
“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments,” Noem said. “Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused.”
Shortly after Noem published her letter, a federal judge in California blocked the Trump administration from terminating the legal status of international students that allows them to study in the U.S.
The government, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White wrote, “uniformly wreaked havoc” on foreign students across the country by tampering with their student records.
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