Latest news with #Trump-Harvard
Boston Globe
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Congressional Democrats threaten investigation if Harvard makes deal with Trump
Harvard officials and members of the Trump administration have The letter from members of Congress comes days after the New York Times reported that people familiar with the the Trump-Harvard negotiations said the university was Advertisement The federal government announced on June 30 that Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act based on its lack of urgency while responding to allegations of antisemitism on campus. Members of Congress said on Friday that instead of settling with the Trump administration, Harvard should settle with the students alleging lack of protection from antisemitism. 'If these actions are rooted in students' concerns of legal compliance with civil rights law, any settlement must be with those students individually or as a class,' the letter said. Advertisement Bowing to political pressure from the White House would merit congressional oversight and inquiry, the lawmakers said in their letter. 'We urge Harvard to defend its institutional independence and academic integrity from this blatant attempt at political intimidation, and we reserve our right to engage in congressional oversight should the university fail to do so,' said California Democratic Rep. Sam Liccardo, who signed the letter. UPenn officials did not agree to payments, and Columbia said it will pay about $200 million to the federal government. But Harvard could set an example of refusing to acquiesce to the federal government's pressure campaign, the congressional alumni group said in their Friday letter. 'Capitulating to politically motivated demands from the Executive Branch risks setting a precedent that could severely undermine the independence not only of Harvard but of educational institutions nationwide,' the letter said. The 13 other co-signers include Senators Van Hollen, Schiff, and Gallego and Representatives Ruiz, Garamendi, Scott, Takano, Himes, Castro, Hernandez, Ivey, Min, and Rivas. Harvard officials have shared virtually no information about talks. A Harvard spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Members of Congress said in their letter that they're also asking the university to clarify details of the negotiations, such as how many meetings have taken place and what the Trump administration has demanded. Advertisement The lawmakers said the university has until August 13 to provide them with more details of negotiations. 'Should Harvard pursue a settlement perceived to be a response to political intimidation rather than a good-faith resolution of a legitimate legal dispute, Congress retains both the authority and the obligation to investigate,' the letter said. Claire Thornton can be reached at
USA Today
24-06-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Judge blocks Trump plan to close Harvard's doors to international students
BOSTON - A federal judge on June 23 blocked the Trump administration from implementing its plan to bar foreign nationals from entering the United States to study at Harvard University. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston issued an injunction barring Trump's administration from carrying out its latest bid to curtail Harvard's ability to host international students amid an escalating fight pitting President Donald Trump against the prestigious Ivy League school. The preliminary injunction extends a temporary order the judge issued on June 5 that prevented the administration from enforcing a proclamation Trump signed a day earlier that cited national security concerns to justify why Harvard could no longer be trusted to host international students. The proclamation prohibited foreign nationals from entering the U.S. to study at Harvard or participate in exchange visitor programs for an initial period of six months, and directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to consider whether to revoke visas of international students already enrolled at Harvard. Burroughs wrote that "at its root, this case is about core constitutional rights that must be safeguarded: freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of speech, each of which is a pillar of a functioning democracy and an essential hedge against authoritarianism." "Here, the government's misplaced efforts to control a reputable academic institution and squelch diverse viewpoints seemingly because they are, in some instances, opposed to this Administration's own views, threaten these rights," she wrote. "To make matters worse, the government attempts to accomplish this, at least in part, on the backs of international students, with little thought to the consequences to them or, ultimately, to our own citizens." Trump-Harvard clash heats up. Here's what to know. Almost 6,800 international students attended Harvard in its most recent school year, making up about 27% of the student population of the prestigious Cambridge, Massachusetts-based school. Trump signed the proclamation after his administration had already frozen billions of dollars in funding to the oldest and wealthiest U.S. university, threatened Harvard's tax-exempt status, and launched several investigations into the school. Trump on June 20 said his administration could announce a deal with Harvard "over the next week or so" to resolve the White House's campaign against the university, which has waged a legal battle against the administration's action. Harvard alleges that Trump is retaliating against it in violation of its free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment for refusing to accede to the administration's demands to control the school's governance, curriculum, and the ideology of its faculty and students. Harvard, Trump administration legal battle The university has filed two separate lawsuits before Burroughs seeking to unfreeze around $2.5 billion in funding and to prevent the administration from blocking the ability of international students to attend the university. The latter lawsuit was filed after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on May 22 announced that her department was immediately revoking Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, which allows it to enroll foreign students. Noem, without providing evidence, accused the university of "fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party." Trump-Harvard feud: Trump says he wants 'names and countries' of all international students at Harvard Her action was temporarily blocked by Burroughs almost immediately. While the Department of Homeland Security has since shifted to challenging Harvard's certification through a months-long administrative process, Burroughs at a May 29 hearing said she planned to issue an injunction to maintain the status quo, which she did officially on June 20. A week after the hearing, Trump signed his proclamation, which cited concerns about Harvard's acceptance of foreign money, including from China, and what it said was an inadequate response by the school to his administration's demand for information on foreign students. His administration has accused Harvard of creating an unsafe environment for Jewish students and allowing antisemitism to fester on its campus. Protests over U.S. ally Israel's treatment of Palestinians during its war in Gaza have roiled numerous universities' campuses, including Harvard's. Rights advocates have noted rising antisemitism and Islamophobia in the U.S. due to the war. The Trump administration has thus far announced no action over anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate. Harvard's own antisemitism and Islamophobia task forces found widespread fear and bigotry at the university in reports released in late April. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot and Lincoln Feast.)
Global News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Global News
U.S. resumes student visa applications under new social media vetting rules
The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review. The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles. In a notice made public Wednesday, the department said it had rescinded its May suspension of student visa processing but said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to 'public' and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected. It said a refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity. The Trump administration last month temporarily halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the U.S. while preparing to expand the screening of their activity on social media, officials said. Story continues below advertisement Students around the world have been waiting anxiously for U.S. consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, as the window left to book their travel and make housing arrangements narrows ahead of the start of the school year. On Wednesday afternoon, a 27-year-old Ph.D. student in Toronto was able to secure an appointment for a visa interview next week. The student, a Chinese national, hopes to travel to the U.S. for a research intern position that would start in late July. 'I'm really relieved,' said the student, who spoke on condition of being identified only by his surname, Chen, because he was concerned about being targeted. 'I've been refreshing the website couple of times every day.' 8:35 Students face uncertain future as Trump-Harvard litigation battle gets underway Students from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines have posted on social media sites that they have been monitoring visa booking websites and closely watching press briefings of the State Department to get any indication of when appointment bookings might resume. Story continues below advertisement 'Under new guidance, consular officers will conduct a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all student and exchange visitor applicants,' the department said in a statement. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'To facilitate this vetting' applicants 'will be asked to adjust the privacy settings on all their social media profiles to 'public,'' it said. 'The enhanced social media vetting will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.' In internal guidance sent to consular officers, the department said they should be looking for 'any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.' Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the new policy evokes the ideological vetting of the Cold War when prominent artists and intellectuals were excluded from the U.S. 'This policy makes a censor of every consular officer, and it will inevitably chill legitimate political speech both inside and outside the United States,' Jaffer said. 2:35 Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi freed on bail, plans to challenge U.S. deportation International students in the U.S. have been facing increased scrutiny on several fronts. Story continues below advertisement In the spring, the Trump administration revoked permission to study in the U.S. for thousands of students, including some involved only in traffic offenses, before abruptly reversing course. The government also expanded the grounds on which foreign students can have their legal status terminated. As part of a pressure campaign targeting Harvard University, the Trump administration has moved to block foreign students from attending the Ivy League school, which counts on international students for tuition dollars and a quarter of its enrollment. Trump has said Harvard should cap its foreign enrollment at 15%. The Trump administration also has called for 36 countries to commit to improving vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department says the countries have 60 days to address U.S. concerns or risk being added to a travel ban that now includes 12 nations.
USA Today
04-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Can Harvard's alumni save it from Trump?
Can Harvard's alumni save it from Trump? Harvard has some of the wealthiest and most prominent alumni of any university in the world. They're already playing a key role in responding to President Donald Trump's pressure campaign. Show Caption Hide Caption Judge blocks Trump's foreign student ban at Harvard University A federal judge extended an order to block the Trump administration from revoking foreign students to Harvard University. Some are Supreme Court justices. Others are former presidents. More are business tycoons, famous actors and high-powered lawyers. Harvard University's alumni – nearly half a million strong – include some of the most powerful and wealthy people in the United States. Donations to their alma mater amount to hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Since President Donald Trump began targeting the Ivy League campus as part of a pressure campaign to reform American colleges, Harvard has come to need the public and financial support of its alumni more than ever. In mid-April, the Trump administration froze billions in federal funding at the school, alleging its administrators had violated civil rights laws because they hadn't taken steps to curb antisemitism. Then, in early May, the president threatened to rescind the university's tax-exempt status, which could cost the school hundreds of millions, by some estimates. A few weeks later, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard's ability to enroll international students, many of whom conduct important research and tend to bring in more tuition dollars than domestic students. A federal judge has indefinitely paused that move. The Trump administration's actions have forced the school, one of the wealthiest institutions in the world, to consider for the first time how to cut costs in major ways. Harvard's president, Alan Garber – who is Jewish and has committed to curbing antisemitic discrimination on campus – took a voluntary 25% pay cut. Harvard borrowed $750 million, far less than the well over $2.2 billion in federal funding that's been frozen. As a new form of federal oversight has thrown the school into turmoil, its former students have sprung into action. When Garber first pledged to challenge Trump, alumni donations surged. Nearly 4,000 online gifts totaling $1.14 million were recorded in the 48 hours after Harvard filed its initial lawsuit against the Trump administration, according to the Harvard Crimson, the campus newspaper. Yet it's unclear whether alumni donations can fill the massive financial vacuum created by the federal government's retreat, said Allison Wu, a graduate of Harvard Business School and a cofounder of the alumni group the 1636 Forum. Though gifts in the hundreds of millions aren't unheard of at Harvard, its largest alumni donation in 2015 was $400 million, a fraction of the funding the school is looking to recover. "No one has ever given at that level to Harvard," she said. Read more: The Trump-Harvard clash is heating up. Here's what to know. Thousands of alumni come together The breadth of Harvard's alumni base was especially evident in a meeting of thousands of former students last week. The purpose of the virtual gathering, which included prominent Harvard graduates like Maura Healey, the Democratic governor of Massachusetts, and Antonio Delgado, the Democratic lieutenant governor of New York, was to "mobilize against the federal attacks on Harvard." It was organized by Crimson Courage, a nonpartisan group of alumni that formed recently to support academic freedom at Harvard. Lisa Paige, one of Crimson Courage's organizers, said alumni are drafting a friend-of-the-court brief in support of one of Harvard's lawsuits against the White House. "Harvard alumni are certainly not aligned on every cause," said Paige, who graduated from the university in 1980. "However, we have come together across our differences to fight for a common cause, which is academic freedom." Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@ Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Morning Brief Podcast: Trump vs Harvard: India Impact
Morning Brief Podcast (ET Online) Trump vs Harvard: India Impact 20:10 Min | June 03, 2025, 7:37 AM IST LISTEN 20:10 LISTENING... The Trump-Harvard tussle over international students has aspirants and their parents in a bind. In this episode of The Morning Brief, host Prachi Verma explores the ripple effect of the clash and what it signals for the future of American higher education. With its federal certification temporarily stripped, Harvard now has less than 30 days to prove it complies with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. While a federal judge has paused the enforcement, the uncertainty is real—especially for the nearly one-third of Harvard's student population that comes from abroad, including 800 Indian families reassess their higher education plans, Prachi speaks to Naveen Chopra, founder of TC Global, and Deepak Ahluwalia, a U.S.-based immigration lawyer, to unpack what this means on the ground from admissions anxieties to long-term policy implications. From curriculum and diversity to global enrolment strategies, the question lingers: in a decentralized and competitive academic world, can a single institution still lead or is the age of institutional bellwethers coming to an end?
