The United States government on Thursday revoked Harvard University’s certification to enrol international students. This means that foreign students now at the institution “must transfer or lose their legal status”, stated the Department of Homeland Security.

In a press release, the department claimed that the university was “being held accountable” for allegedly collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party, “fostering violence, antisemitism and pro-terrorist conduct” from students on the campus.

According to data shared by the university, 6,793 international students were enrolled at Harvard during the 2024-’25 academic year, making up about 27.2% of the student population.

The Donald Trump administration’s move to halt international enrollments is expected to significantly impact Harvard’s finances, according to The New York Times.

For the 2025-’26 academic year, tuition fees are set at $59,320, approximately Rs 60 lakh, with total expenses, including housing, reaching nearly $87,000, approximately Rs 74.79 lakh. International students often contribute a higher portion of these costs than domestic students.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L Noem stated in the press release that it “is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments”.

“Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing,” said Noem. “It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.”

The university could restore its permission to enrol foreign students if it provides a comprehensive set of records on all international students within 72 hours, AP quoted Noem as saying. Among the details required to be submitted are audio or video recordings of foreign students “participating in protests or dangerous activity on campus”.

Harvard has called the Trump administration’s move “unlawful” and described it as a “retaliatory action”, BBC reported.

“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,” the university stated.

In April, the Trump administration froze more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University after the institution said it would defy demands to overhaul its policies and curb activism on campus. In response, Harvard filed a lawsuit to recover the funding.

The action had come hours after Harvard rejected a sweeping list of requirements from the White House ostensibly aimed at combating antisemitism and reforming university governance, admissions and hiring practices.

The US government had said that nearly $9 billion in total grants and contracts were at stake if Harvard did not comply. Trump has also expressed his intention to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status.

Among the demands were that the university should report students who are “hostile” to American values to federal authorities, ensure departments are “viewpoint diverse” and allow an external, government-approved party to audit programmes that “fuel antisemitic harassment”.

Other measures included banning face masks on campus, ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and withdrawing recognition from student clubs accused of promoting criminal activity, violence or harassment.

The White House has argued that universities have allowed antisemitism to flourish during protests against Israel’s war on Gaza and US support for it. “Harvard had in recent years failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment,” the administration said in a letter on April 11.

Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly targeted elite universities over campus protests, diversity programmes and free speech issues. Harvard is the seventh major institution whose funding has been paused by his administration. The others are Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Princeton, Cornell and Northwestern.

Columbia was the first to be targeted and later agreed to several government demands after $400 million in federal funding was pulled. Education Secretary Linda McMahon had said then that “universities must comply with all federal anti-discrimination laws if they are going to receive federal funding”.

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