DHS, IRS join government funding crackdown on Harvard over antisemitism charges

By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square

The Trump administration is increasing financial pressure on Harvard University, targeting many of the school’s funding sources in an effort to root out antisemitism in American higher education. 

After Harvard refused to more effectively curb unlawful student activity and reform any programs “with egregious records of antisemitism or other bias,” the U.S. Department of Education announced Monday it was freezing $2.2 billion in federal funding to the university, as The Center Square reported.

The Department of Homeland Security has joined the pushback, with Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday terminating two DHS grants to Harvard worth $2.7 million, declaring the university is “unfit to be entrusted with taxpayers' dollars.”

“Harvard bending the knee to antisemitism – driven by its spineless leadership – fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security,” Noem said. “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.”

Noem also demanded the university hand over the disciplinary records of any foreign student visa holders who committed illegal or violent activities. 

If the school does not comply by Apr. 30, the DHS will pull Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, banning Harvard from accepting foreign students and the tuition money they bring in.

The university may receive a further, more devastating blow if the Internal Revenue Service follows through on President Donald Trump’s threat to cancel its tax-exempt status. The IRS is reportedly making plans to do so, per CNN Wednesday.

Harvard President Alan Garber issued a statement saying the university will fulfill its “moral duty to fight antisemitism,” but will oppose any efforts by the administration “to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate.”

“The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community,” Garber added.