April 17, 2025 – Washington, D.C. Harvard University, facing a strong offense from the Trump administration, is now focused on the demand that it comply with a series of federal requirements to take in international students. This new attack is a part of a movement to diminish the number of learning institutions that are believed to encourage anti-American politics.

Harvard University Under Fire: Trump Warns of International Student Ban

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has directed Harvard to furnish the records of its alleged “illegal and violent activities” committed by its foreign student visa holders by April 30. If Harvard does not obey, it not only will be deprived of the right to accept foreign students but also the government will stop over $2.7 million in grants to the university and freeze $2.3 billion in federal funding for refusing to comply with the federal government and for the fanning of the pro-Palestinian fire during campus protests.

President Donald Trump is an open opponent of Harvard and has gone on to label it a “joke” and suggested it should be stripped of funds. Also, the administration proposed the demand for compulsory overseas control of the University’s hiring, protesting, and position on Jewish issues. Viral on the internet was the reply of the Harvard President Alan Garber, who rejected the demands from the White House, arguing that the Constitution does not allow it, and the freedom of the university is in should be preserved.

Alan Garber, the President of Harvard University, has loyally dismissed these requirements, referring to the Constitutional objections and outlining the university’s independence. Well-known academic institutions such as Columbia, Stanford, and Princeton, as well as public figures, including former President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, have expressed their full support for Harvard and have condemned the leaders’ efforts as a way to challenge academic freedom and autonomy. ​

Unquestionably, the fact that the Trump administration and various higher education institutions have been at tensed over issues of free speech, civil rights, and federal control. The administration that has initiated the freezing or termination of funding, whose amount hangs at $11 billion at some universities, has been rather clear with its intentions. If the disagreement is resolved, it will provide a clear way for the situation of international students and future academic freedom in the United States.