“Harvard University Loses Student and Exchange Visitor Program Certification for Pro-Terrorist Conduct”
So the Department of Homeland Security announced today. A few tentative thoughts; if it turns out that I have erred in my understanding of the facts or of the program, I’ll update them as necessary:
[1.] Unsurprisingly, student and exchange visitor visas are issued only to people who can show that they really are students and exchange visitors, and at recognized institutions that fulfill the visa program’s goals. There are therefore procedures both for certifying and decertifying educational institutions as eligible for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
[2.] Equally unsurprisingly, institutions have to provide various information about students and the students’ conduct. The DHS letter claims that:
On April 16, 2025, Secretary Noem demanded Harvard provide information about the criminality and misconduct of foreign students on its campus. Secretary Noem warned refusal to comply with this lawful order would result in SEVP termination….
Harvard University brazenly refused to provide the required information requested and ignored a follow up request from the Department’s Office of General Council. Secretary Noem is following through on her promise to protect students and prohibit terrorist sympathizers from receiving benefits from the U.S. government.
I can’t speak to what Harvard’s alleged failures were, or whether they are sufficient under the statute to justify decertifying it.
[3.] At the same time, as with other broadly available benefits, the government generally can’t deny them based on the viewpoints that Harvard expresses, declines to express, or tolerates and indirectly supports. And the letter suggests that the government’s actions stem at least in part from such viewpoints. Consider, for instance, the list of “Facts about Harvard’s toxic campus climate”:
- A joint-government task force found that Harvard has failed to confront pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus.
- Jewish students on campus were subject to pervasive insults, physical assault, and intimidation, with no meaningful response from Harvard’s leadership.
- A protester charg
Article from Reason.com
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