The Trump administration on Thursday halted Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, taking aim at a crucial funding source for the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college in a major escalation in the administration’s efforts to pressure the elite school to fall in line with the president’s agenda.
The administration notified Harvard about the decision — which could affect about a quarter of the school’s student body — after a back-and-forth in recent weeks over the legality of a sprawling records request as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigation, according to three people with knowledge of the negotiations. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The latest move intensifies the administration’s attempt to upend the culture of higher education by directly subverting the ability of one of the nation’s premier universities to attract the best and brightest students from all over the world. That capability, across all of academia, has long been one of the greatest sources of academic, economic and scientific strength in America.
It is also likely to prompt a second legal challenge from Harvard, according to another person familiar with the school’s thinking who insisted on anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The university sued the administration last month over the government’s attempt to impose changes to its curriculum, admissions policies and hiring practices.
“I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked,” according to a letter sent to the university by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary. A copy of the letter was obtained by The New York Times.
The Department of Homeland Security said the action applied to current and future students.
“This means Harvard can no longer enroll foreign students, and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status,” the department said in a news release on Thursday.
About 6,800 international students attended Harvard this year, or roughly 27 percent of the student body, according to university enrollment data. That was up from 19.7 percent in 2010.
The administration’s decision is likely to have a significant effect on the university’s bottom line. Tuition at Harvard is $59,320 for the school year that begins later this year, and costs can rise to nearly $87,000 when room and board are included. International students tend to pay larger shares of education costs compared with other students. (Harvard notes it is need-blind for all students regardless of nationality.)
A spokesman for Harvard called the administration’s action “unlawful.”
“We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the university — and this nation — immeasurably,” said Jason Newton, the university’s director of media relations. “We are working quickly to provide guidance and support to members of our community. This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard’s academic and research mission.”
Ms. Noem posted the administration’s letter on social media later on Thursday.
Leo Gerden, a senior at Harvard from Stockholm who has been a staunch advocate on campus for international students, said he was devastated by the news.
“Without its international students and without its ability to bring in the best people from around the world, Harvard is not going to be Harvard anymore,” said Mr. Gerden, who graduates next week.
“The Trump administration is using us as poker chips right now,” he added. “It is extremely dangerous.”
Harvard has been praised for fighting back against Mr. Trump and his administration, and legal experts have said the school has a strong case to get back the federal funding for its research that the administration has stripped from the school.
But the move by the administration is the latest example of why senior officials at Harvard have been privately concerned they are in the midst of an untenable crisis as the administration continues to target the school with onerous investigations and extensive funding cuts.
Even if the Trump administration is forced to return research funding to Harvard, the university is contending with additional burdens imposed by the government, like a recently opened investigation by the Justice Department into the school’s admission policies that includes a cumbersome records request.
The decision from Ms. Noem on Thursday stemmed from a separate investigation her agency opened on April 16. In a letter to the school, she demanded a trove of information on student visa holders, saying that the college had “created a hostile learning environment for Jewish students.”
Her request included eight criteria, ranging from the coursework for every international student to information on any student visa holder who had been involved in illegal activity.
News of the investigation unnerved many students and alumni, and raised concerns among the university’s lawyers that the administration’s request went beyond data that the school was legally allowed to share, according to people familiar with the matter.
Harvard relayed those concerns to the administration on April 30. On the same day, Meredith Weenick, the university’s executive vice president, issued a public letter that vowed to provide the administration only with information “required by law” and urged students to “stay as focused as possible on your academic pursuits.”
The administration responded the following week, notifying Harvard that the school’s response did not satisfy Ms. Noem’s request, the people said. In the same message, the administration appeared to narrow its request by asking for information on international students who met any one of four criteria.
Last week, Harvard told the administration that only a few students met those qualifications and asked the government for additional clarification on one of the requests.
Then, on Thursday, Ms. Noem disqualified Harvard from the student visa program, explaining that her decision was because of the university’s “failure to comply with simple reporting requirements.”
She then expanded the list of criteria for student records to six, and gave Harvard 72 hours to comply.
Miles J. Herszenhorn contributed reporting from Boston.
Michael S. Schmidt is an investigative reporter for The Times covering Washington. His work focuses on tracking and explaining high-profile federal investigations.
Michael C. Bender is a Times political correspondent covering President Trump, the Make America Great Again movement and other federal and state elections.
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