WASHINGTON – The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a management subpoena to Harvard University, requesting records related to the Student and Exchange Visitors Program (SEVP). The move comes after repeated rejections by the university in order for the university to comply with previous, non-strong demands for information about international students on campus.
DHS officials allege that Harvard did not provide necessary documentation on the behavior of non-immigrant students and the status of immigration, prompting for formal enforcement action. The subpoena issued by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) seeks records, communications and other documents dating back to January 1, 2020.
“We tried to do things in an easy way with Harvard,” DHS Deputy Chief Tricia McLaughlin said. “Now, we have to do it in a difficult way, refusing to cooperate with them. Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and defend violence and terrorism on campus.
This situation escalated when DHS Executive Director Kristi Noem officially requested Harvard to hand over certain information related to alleged misconduct by foreign students. After the university failed to comply, DHS announced on May 22 that it concluded the termination of Harvard’s SEVP accreditation. Without SEVP accreditation, institutions are prohibited from registering international students on F or M visas.
In the recent Washington Post, Secretary Noam defended the administration’s actions, saying the university was given multiple opportunities to follow its own terms.
DHS officials also indicate that other academic institutions should pay attention to the Harvard University incident. Universities that were asked to provide similar data in the future are being urged to cooperate to avoid similar outcomes.
