The Department of Homeland Security is demanding “detailed records” on Harvard University’s student visa holders, according to a statement from the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The school must turn over student visa holders’ records, specifically those pertaining to “illegal and violent activities,” or risk losing the school’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program status, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Harvard in a letter sent by the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The SEVP allows for noncitizen students to study at the university under a specific visa.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Noem told Harvard it is a “privilege” to have foreign students attend Harvard, “not a guarantee.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The United States Government understands that Harvard University relies heavily on foreign student funding from over 10,000 foreign students to build and maintain their substantial endowment,” Noem wrote in a letter dated April 16 and obtained by ABC News. “At the same time, your institution has created a hostile learning environment for Jewish students due to Harvard’s failure to condemn antisemitism.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noem requested that Harvard provide a tranche of information to the department to keep its SEVP status, asking it for information on student visa holders’ “known” illegally activity, violent activity, threats to students or faculty, disciplinary actions taken as a result of being involved in a protest, whether a student obstructed the school’s learning environment and the coursework that a student is taking to maintain the visa status, according to the letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n