Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem argued that the Trump administration’s feud with Harvard University is meant to be a “warning to all universities,” specifically over the Ivy League school pushing “Chinese Communist Party priorities.”
Noem condemned Harvard’s handling of its foreign students, stating that the school has allowed its students to attend “paramilitary activities” and providing information to China. She also noted how Harvard has “taken away opportunities” from students in the United States while allowing “antisemitism” as well as “communist and Marxist ideologies” to take place on campus.
“Harvard has talked a game to where now they say they want to comply with the requirements of our foreign student programs, they absolutely have not,” Noem stated on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. “They have not followed the rules of the program, the vetting processes of these students, giving us the information on their criminal background checks, what they may have done to break the law in their country or here or promote violence on campus, and they won’t comply. Therefore, they will not get to participate.”
This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.
It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to… pic.twitter.com/HrIXbLSMH7
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) June 1, 2025
The secretary added that many foreign students at Harvard have ties to China, a country that has “infiltrated” the U.S. and “hacked” into the country’s systems. She claimed that Harvard has allowed China to aid its goal to “destroy” the U.S., which the Trump administration is halting.
The most recent update in Harvard’s fight with the Trump administration was when a federal judge maintained a pause on the Department of Homeland Security’s order to strip the school’s ability to enroll foreign students. The move by the judge came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the Trump administration would work “aggressively” to revoke the visas of Chinese students.
Last week, Leo Terrell, head of the Justice Department’s Antisemitism Task Force, warned that the Trump administration would no longer “tolerate” antisemitism. He added that schools failing to stop antisemitism on their campuses can expect “massive lawsuits” and hate crime charges from the DOJ.
