Department of Homeland Security officials revealed plans to send administrative subpoenas to Harvard University over their student visa and exchange programs.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem previously demanded that Harvard provide the administration with “information about the criminality and misconduct of foreign students on its campus,” according to a release from the agency. The official ordered the termination of their student visa program after the demand was not answered.
“We tried to do things the easy way with Harvard. Now, through their refusal to cooperate, we have to do things the hard way,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the release.
“Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus,” she continued. “If Harvard won’t defend the interests of its students, then we will.”
Noem previously wrote in an opinion piece that Harvard has “fostered antisemitic extremism and has used taxpayer money to collaborate with an American adversary,” saying that the elite school failed to comply with federal oversight or provide safety for their students.
Because foreign students pay more in tuition than the typical domestic student, Noem added that the student visa program has “turned into a giant cash cow for Harvard.”