The Department of Homeland Security wants to inspect federal I-9 forms for Harvard employees.
Harvard University said on July 29 that it will hand over employment forms for thousands of university staff members as requested by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) but will not share records for those employed in student-only roles.
In an email to employees, viewed by The Epoch Times, the Ivy League school’s Human Resources office said it received a notice of inspection (NOI) and related subpoena from the DHS on July 8 seeking to inspect federal I-9 forms and supporting documentation for Harvard employees.
The I-9 forms, or Employment Eligibility Verification, are used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired to work in the United States. The I-9 process is managed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is a component of the DHS.
Harvard said that when it received the notice of inspection, it “appeared to seek information about a few dozen employees in Massachusetts Hall.”
“Although Harvard produced the information for those employees (with the exception of student-employees), DHS notified us that the NOI received on July 8 applies to all current Harvard employees and any individual employed by the University in the last 12 months,” the email stated.
“This NOI is separate and apart from the three Department of Homeland Security administrative subpoenas issued to Harvard on July 8, 2025, which were posted to the Harvard International Office website.”
Harvard said it will comply with the request from the Department of Homeland Security but will not produce information on students who are currently or were previously employed in roles open only to students, as the university is evaluating whether the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law governing access to education records, permits their disclosure.
“We have asked DHS to confirm that the records produced in response to this notice for any individual will be securely maintained by DHS and not shared outside DHS, that the documents will only be accessed by DHS personnel authorized to inspect such records, and that DHS will only use these records for the purposes authorized by law,” the email stated.
