A notice says ’sworn statements, documents, and other evidence’ should be sent to rebut the administration’s arguments.
Lawyers for the Trump administration said in a notice that the government will give Harvard University 30 days to provide evidence in response to the White House’s move to strip the Ivy League college of its ability to enroll foreign students.
In a court filing on Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent Harvard a notice of intent to withdraw the school’s certification under the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which allows Harvard to enroll non-U.S. students.
The notice from DHS made reference to evidence that suggested Harvard coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and “other foreign adversaries,” which is a “valid and substantive reason for withdrawing” Harvard’s ability to enroll the students, it said.
The development came ahead of a scheduled hearing before U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston over whether to extend a temporary order blocking the government from revoking the Ivy League school’s ability to host international students.
“This notice is not a means to submit information or evidence that should have been previously provided as part of established reporting requirements,” DHS told Harvard.
Instead, it should be seen as an “opportunity for your school to demonstrate compliance” with DHS requirements and federal law, the notice said. “Failure to respond to this notice within the allotted time will result in the withdrawal of your school’s certification.”
Last week, DHS announced that Harvard’s foreign admissions certification would be revoked, warning that other colleges could also be targeted.
“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
In April, Noem had issued a request to the school and said it must provide information regarding foreign students who may have been involved in on-campus protests or violence that may lead to them being deported.
The DHS notice last week said that the school could retain its capacity to host foreign students if it provides records on those students within 72 hours, which has already passed. Her office had demanded records, audio and video footage, and other details about non-U.S. citizen students who partook in protests or dangerous activity.
Wednesday’s notice provided more insight into the DHS’s arguments that Harvard had collaborated with CCP officials.
It noted that as recently as 2024, Harvard had “hosted and trained” individuals who belong to the CCP paramilitary group known as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps that has been “complicit in the Uyghur genocide” in China’s Xinjiang region “even after its 2020 designation on the U.S. Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals List.”
University researchers allegedly “collaborated with China-based academics on projects funded by an Iranian government agent,” including on military advancements such as optics and aerospace research, the notice added. Some researchers at the school also partnered with China’s defense industrial base, it said.
By Jack Phillips
