Athira Sethu
Kochi, 17 April 2025
Harvard University is in grave danger with the U.S. government. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during the Trump administration threatened that Harvard might lose its status to enroll foreign students. This follows the government’s accusations that Harvard had failed to adequately manage foreign student protests.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem explained that Harvard is required to provide documents on what she described as “illegal and violent behavior” by foreign students. If Harvard fails to comply, it can lose the privilege of accepting foreign students on campus.
As part of this dispute, the DHS has already revoked two grants to Harvard, totaling more than $2.7 million. This is part of a broader action by the Trump administration to push universities that have witnessed pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
President Trump has labeled the protests as anti-American and accused them of backing Hamas, the organization behind a fatal attack in October 2023. Protesters, who are predominantly Jewish students, claim they are only voicing Palestinian rights and peace, not violence or hate.
The Trump administration also has under review more than $9 billion of federal grants and contracts awarded to Harvard. To date, over $2.2 billion have already been frozen or retraced. Harvard is the most affected university by such actions.
Harvard pushed back. University President Alan M. Garber stated Harvard will not relinquish its autonomy or freedom of speech. The institution has also declined to allow outside auditing or governmental supervision of its departments.
Despite having a $53 billion endowment (an account that assists in funding the university), Harvard issued a recent $750 million bond in order to remain financially agile in this uncertain environment.
The government also threatens to remove Harvard’s tax-exempt status. If they do, the university could potentially be taxed as a normal company.
Other Ivy League schools such as Columbia, Princeton, and Cornell are facing reductions in funds for the same reasons. Human rights organizations fear that these governmental actions are constraining free speech and unfairly targeting certain communities.
