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Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump admin starts 30-day countdown on Harvard foreign students
The Trump administration began a 30-day countdown for Harvard to respond on Thursday as it filed a formal notice with federal courts to withdraw the prestigious institution from the federal program allowing the school to accept foreign students. The court filing included a letter sent to Harvard Director of Immigration Services Maureen Martin on Wednesday. 'This notice advises your school of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program's (SEVP) intent to withdraw you school's SEVP certification for failing to comply with the federal regulations detailed below,' the letter begins. The issues named in the letter are: that Harvard failed to comply with reporting requirements that Harvard failed to maintain a campus environment 'free from violence and antisemitism' that there were national security concerns related to Harvard's practices with foreign entities Harvard now has 30 days to provide evidence that it followed the law with respect to the above issues, according to the letter. The filing comes as Harvard and the Trump administration are set to appear in federal court in Boston on Thursday. It also took place the same day as Harvard's commencement ceremony. Read more: Shadow of Trump administration hangs over Harvard University commencement About 27% of Harvard's undergraduate and graduate students are international, according to 2024 to 2025 data. This filing follows letters both earlier this month and in April escalating the Trump administration's position on whether foreign students can be allowed at Harvard. In a statement accompanying last week's letter on the social media platform X, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem wrote that the administration was holding Harvard accountable 'for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.' Harvard responded immediately with a 72-page lawsuit against the Trump administration, leading to a federal judge blocking the administration from revoking the certification. 'For those international students and scholars affected by yesterday's action, know that you are vital members of our community,' Harvard President Alan Garber said at the time. 'You are our classmates and friends, our colleagues and mentors, our partners in the work of this great institution. Thanks to you, we know more and understand more, and our country and our world are more enlightened and more resilient. We will support you as we do our utmost to ensure that Harvard remains open to the world.' The Student and Exchange Visitor Program, also known as SEVP, allows higher education institutions to issue visa application forms to prospective international students after admitting them. The forms are used to apply for a visa to enter the United States. The certification requirements include that the school is operational and instructing students, has the necessary facilities and adequate finances to operate, provides instruction to a degree or objective and meets state requirements to operate, according to the Department of Homeland Security website. Read more: Trump is threatening to block international students from Harvard. Is that legal? Institutions are recertified every two years, but can be evaluated at other points in time if they have information suggesting that it isn't complying with regulations. If the certification is taken away, an institution isn't allowed to enroll international students. Current students would have to choose between transferring to another institution, leaving the U.S., or changing their immigration status, according to the ICE website. An example of the certification being stripped occurred at Herguan University in California in 2016 after its CEO pleaded guilty to providing fraudulent documents to the Department of Homeland Security, according to East Bay Times. Harvard has been in a battle with the federal government since April. There has been a wave of federal research grant terminations at Harvard University, in addition to a $60 million in multi-year grants,$450 million cut and a $2.2 billion freeze. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has also told the institution that the federal government would be barring Harvard University from acquiring new federal grants while the university continues to refuse to comply with the administration's demands for change on its campus. Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon that they share the same 'common ground,' but the university 'will not surrender its core, legally-protected principles out of fear.' Garber pushed back on the administration through a lawsuit in April. The institution argues that its constitutional rights had been violated by the government's threats to pull billions of dollars in funding if the school didn't comply with demands for an the $450 million announced cuts, the university amended its lawsuit. 'No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,' the suit reads. Due to the federal cuts, Harvard announced that it was committing $250 million of 'central funding' to support research impacted by suspended and canceled federal grants. MassLive reporter Juliet Schulman-Hall contributed to this article. Harvard commencement speaker says it's fitting to 'hear from an immigrant like me' Many foreign students already fleeing Harvard University due to Trump order Protesters pack outside Harvard commencement as families focus on their graduates Shadow of Trump administration hangs over Harvard University commencement Trump proposes a 15% cap on foreign students at Harvard Read the original article on MassLive.
Eyewitness News
24-05-2025
- Eyewitness News
Man arrested in Bedfordview on charges of theft, fraud, contravening Immigration Act
JOHANNESBURG - A 49-year-old man has been arrested in the Bedfordview area on charges of possession of a stolen motorcycle, fraud, and contravention of the Immigration Act. Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) officers were patrolling on Friday when they intercepted a suspicious vehicle on Dean and Van Buuren Road. The motorcycle did not have brake lights, the driver had a fraudulent license disc and could also not produce a valid passport upon request, leading to his arrest. EMPD spokesperson Ignatius Maphike said the suspect did not have a valid driver's license. 'The suspect who failed to provide officers with satisfactory answers for the ordeal was immediately placed under arrest while Immigration Services were summoned for further investigation.'
The Hill
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump ratchets up battle with Harvard, foreign students
The Trump administration intensified its battle with Harvard on Thursday, revoking the storied college's ability to enroll foreign students and demanding that any such current students transfer elsewhere for the next academic year or lose their visas. The decision was laid out in a letter from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to Harvard's Director of Immigration Services, Maureen Martin. Noem declared that it was a 'privilege' for an educational institution to be able to enroll international students. She further contended that Harvard had lost this privilege because, she said, it had refused to comply with requests from her department for information, perpetuated 'an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students,' and had employed 'racist' diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. Those charges were a reminder of the broader struggle between the Trump administration and Harvard. Harvard leadership believes the Trump administration wants to eviscerate the college's academic freedom. The college also says it takes the issue of antisemitism seriously. When the conflict between Trump and the college first flared, Harvard President Alan Garber asserted that the Trump administration was seeking to 'impose unprecedented and improper control over the University.' Garber also said that Harvard had a 'moral imperative' as well as a 'legal obligation' to fight back against such an effort. Here are five major takeaways from the latest developments. The administration's battle with Harvard has escalated rapidly since it sent a letter to Harvard on April 11 insisting on a list of expansive demands, including an audit of faculty and the student body, purportedly to ensure 'viewpoint diversity,' steps toward 'meaningful governance reform' and 'reducing the power held by faculty …and administrators more committed to activism than scholarship.' When Harvard announced soon afterward that it would not comply with those demands, the administration moved to cancel more than $2 billion in research grants as well as $60 million in contracts. Earlier this month, it followed up with another letter, this time from Education Secretary Linda McMahon, imposing 'the end of new grants for the University.' Income from foreign students is important for many universities, in part because a very high proportion of those students pay for tuition. Almost 7,000 students, around 27 percent of Harvard's current student body, come from outside the United States. However, Harvard is also in a highly unusual position because of its huge endowment. Harvard's financial report on the 2024 fiscal year noted that education revenues, whether from foreign or American students, comprised just 21 percent of its operating revenue. The same report valued its endowment at $53.2 billion. The president is loath to back down from any confrontation. It is clear that he and his allies believe they can wring a political dividend from the fight with Harvard. The broad framing of the issue from MAGA world is that Harvard and other elite colleges are bastions of far-left thought and quasi-subversive activity. This, combined with the massive endowments many of those institutions enjoy, can be used by Team Trump to paint the colleges as unworthy recipients of taxpayers' dollars. Harvard, the nation's oldest and most famous university, makes a particularly inviting target. Of course, the college and many others in the academic world and beyond see the issue completely differently – as President Trump trying to intimidate academia itself and bring potential dissenters to heel. But the Trump argument plainly will have some sway with his loyal base, among which Americans who have never gone to any college are heavily represented. Harvard has been willing to resist the Trump administration's pressure from the start – a stance that has marked it out from other institutions, notably Columbia, which in effect caved to the White House. The willingness to mix it up has drawn escalating ire from the president. But it has also won Harvard plaudits from those who believe it is making a principled stand. It is continuing to maintain that stance in the wake of Thursday's announcement. In a statement, Harvard stated starkly, 'The government's action is unlawful.' It added that the college was '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.' The final point may find a broader resonance. As with the revocation of grant money, the argument can be made that the attempt to push international students out in effect could deprive the United States of the innovators and entrepreneurs of the future. There is also a more localized effect on the community surrounding Harvard. Reuters, citing figures from an association of international educators, reported that international students at Harvard spent an estimated $384 million in total in the 2023-2024 school year. The new Trump blast at Harvard is, as noted, partly about an alleged failure to combat antisemitism. The college vigorously denies this. But the debate over antisemitism has been sharpened by the killing of two staff members from the Israeli Embassy in Washington on Wednesday night. Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, were shot and killed outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. The couple was engaged. Elias Rodriguez, who was formally charged with the murders on Thursday, appears to harbor pro-Palestinian sympathies. Israel's war on Gaza has drawn widespread protests, and the protesters often believe the charge of antisemitism is unfairly leveled to delegitimize their viewpoints. But the double murder in Washington has already made the conversation over anti-Jewish prejudice much more pointed. While some Trump supporters are cheering him on in the fight, opposition from Democrats, Trump critics and free-speech advocates is at least as vigorous. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the former head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, wrote on social media that Trump's move was 'dangerous and unlawful.' She added it was 'nothing more than a wannabe dictator trying to bully people into silence.' Bill Kristol, the neoconservative commentator and frequent Trump critic, contended that 'Most foreigners at Harvard grasp American principles better than most senior officials in the Trump administration.' The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) blasted the administration's move as 'retaliatory and unlawful' as well as 'un-American.' FIRE took particular exception to a Trump administration demand that Harvard produce video and audio footage of any campus demonstration in which international students were involved. The organization said this request was a 'sweeping fishing expedition' that was 'gravely alarming.'
