Trump administration ramps up attack on Harvard, Columbia

Graduates gather as they attend commencement ceremony at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 29, 2025.[AFP] President Donald Trump ramped up his campaign against top US universities Wednesday, banning visas for all foreign students coming to attend Harvard and threatening to strip Columbia of its academic accreditation. Trump is seeking to bring the universities to heel with claims their international students pose a national security threat, and that they ignored anti-Semitism on campus, and perpetuate liberal bias. A proclamation issued by the White House late Wednesday declared that the entrance of international students to begin a course at Harvard would be "suspended and limited" for six months, and that existing overseas enrollees could have their visas terminated. "Harvard's conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers," said the order. "I'm trembling. This is outrageous," Karl Molden, a Harvard government and classics student from Austria, told AFP. "He is abusing his executive power to harm Harvard as much as he can." "My god!" said another international student at Harvard, who declined to be named for fear of retribution, on learning of the executive order. "This is such a disgrace." 'Retaliatory' The announcement came after the Trump administration's earlier efforts to terminate Harvard's right to enroll and host foreign students were stalled by a judge. The government already cut around $3.2 billion of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts institution from any future federal funding. Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump's campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and "viewpoint diversity." Trump has also singled out international students at Harvard, who in the 2024-2025 academic year accounted for 27 percent of total enrollment, and a major source of income. "This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights," a university spokesman said. "Harvard will continue to protect its international students." The latest sweeping action against Harvard came as Trump's education secretary threatened Wednesday to strip Columbia University of its accreditation. The Republican has targeted the New York Ivy League institution for allegedly ignoring harassment of Jewish students, throwing all of its federal funding into doubt. Unlike Harvard, several top institutions -- including Columbia -- have already bowed to far-reaching demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing. 'Combating anti-Semitism' But Wednesday's official action suggested it was not enough for Trump. "Columbia University looked the other way as Jewish students faced harassment," US Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on X. She accused the school of breaking rules prohibiting recipients of federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin. "After Hamas' October 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel, Columbia University's leadership acted with deliberate indifference towards the harassment of Jewish students on its campus," McMahon said in a statement. "This is not only immoral, but also unlawful." In the statement, the US Education Department said its civil rights office had contacted Columbia's accreditation body about the alleged violation. Withdrawing Columbia's accreditation would see it lose access to all federal funding -- a very significant proportion of the university's income. Students attending the university would also not be able to receive federal grants and loans towards tuition. Critics accuse the Trump administration of using allegations of anti-Semitism to target educational elites and bring universities to their knees. The administration has already put $400 million of Columbia's funding under review, prompting the university in March to announce a package of concessions to the government around defining anti-Semitism, policing protests and conducting oversight for specific academic departments. Following Wednesday's announcement, a Columbia spokesperson said the university "aware of the concerns" raised by the government with its accreditation body. "We have addressed those concerns directly with Middle States," the spokesperson said, adding that "Columbia is deeply committed to combating anti-Semitism on our campus." "We take this issue seriously and are continuing to work with the federal government to address it."

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