U.S. threatens Harvard with foreign student ban amid antisemitism dispute

The U.S. government has threatened to ban Harvard University from enrolling foreign students, escalating a confrontation over how the prestigious institution handles antisemitism on campus.

The warning comes after Harvard resisted pressure from President Donald Trump’s administration to overhaul its hiring, admissions, and teaching practices. The university has already been hit with a federal funding freeze in what it describes as a politically motivated campaign to reshape its academic environment.

At the center of the controversy is a demand from the White House for sweeping changes aimed at combating antisemitism. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has requested access to records concerning what she labeled the “illegal and violent” activities of foreign students on visas, further raising tensions between the administration and the Ivy League institution.

Harvard, the oldest university in the U.S., responded by defending its existing measures against antisemitism and criticized the administration’s demands as an attempt to “regulate the university’s intellectual conditions.”

“The University has taken concrete steps to address antisemitism in all its forms,” a Harvard spokesperson said, “but we will not compromise the core principles of academic freedom and institutional independence.”

The threat to ban foreign student enrollment—an unprecedented move against a major university—could have wide-reaching consequences. Harvard currently hosts thousands of international students and scholars who contribute significantly to its academic and research output.

Critics of the administration’s stance warn that the move risks politicizing higher education and undermining the global standing of American universities.

It remains unclear how or when the Department of Homeland Security might move forward with the proposed ban. However, Harvard has signaled it is prepared to mount a legal challenge if necessary.