The U.S. Department of Homeland Security canceled $2.7 million in grants to Harvard University on Wednesday, deeming it unfit to receive taxpayer funding.
The funding cancellation follows the Trump administration’s decision on Monday to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funds to Harvard for failing to comply with proposed reforms, including the abolition of DEI programs and addressing antisemitism on campus.
The department also demanded that the school provide records of student visa holders who may have engaged in illegal activity, or risk losing its certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
“Harvard bending the knee to antisemitism—driven by its spineless leadership—fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a department statement.
“With anti-American, pro-Hamas ideology poisoning its campus and classrooms, Harvard’s position as a top institution of higher learning is a distant memory,” she said. “America demands more from universities entrusted with taxpayer dollars.”
Since the Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, some Harvard University’s foreign visa-holding students and faculty have targeted Jewish students, the DHS release stated.
“With a $53.2 billion endowment, Harvard can fund its own chaos, but the Department of Homeland Security won’t,” it continued. “If Harvard cannot verify it is in full compliance with its reporting requirements, the university will lose the privilege of enrolling foreign students.”
Alan Garber, president of Harvard University, announced in a statement on Monday that the college would not comply with the Trump administration’s demands.
“The administration’s prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government,” he stated. “It violates Harvard’s First Amendment rights and exceeds the statutory limits of the government’s authority under Title VI, and it threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge.”
“No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the Ivy League school in a statement on Wednesday.
“Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the world’s great universities or colleges,” he said. “Harvard is a joke, teaches hate and stupidity, and should no longer receive federal funds.”
