Kristi Noem Threatens to Purge Harvard of International Students Over Nonexistent ‘Riots’

Noem’s letter to Harvard requests information on student visa holders’ “known threats to other students or university personnel” and “obstruction of the school’s learning environment”—including participation in peaceful protests against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. If Harvard doesn’t comply and provide this information by April 30, the university will “face immediate loss of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification.” SEVP permits foreign students to apply for student visas to enter the U.S. Over 27% of Harvard’s enrolled student body for the 2024-2025 academic year is international students.

In a letter obtained by the Harvard Crimson, Noem claims the university has created a “hostile learning environment” for Jewish students—without providing any evidence beyond, presumably, the presence of student protests against Israel’s genocide. “It is a privilege to have foreign students attend Harvard University, not a guarantee,” Noem said, which… isn’t true at all. Enrolling international students isn’t a “privilege,” it’s simply what universities all over the world have always done, because diversity of thought and background is a cornerstone of academia.

In a separate statement, Noem said, “Harvard bending the knee to antisemitism—driven by its spineless leadership—fuels a cesspool of extremist riots and threatens our national security.” She continued, “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. America demands more from universities entrusted with taxpayer dollars.”

The “spineless leadership” to which Noem is referring, FWIW, is Harvard President Alan Garber, who declared on Monday that his university would not give in to Trump’s authoritarianism. “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,” Garber said. Sarah E. Kennedy O’Reilly, a spokesperson for the university, responded to Noem’s Wednesday threats with a simple statement: “We will continue to comply with the law and expect the Administration to do the same,” and that Harvard “will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.”

It’s not just Harvard students. Across the country, the Trump administration has been targeting international students, primarily for protesting Israel’s genocide in Gaza, but increasingly for no specified reason at all. In March, the administration targeted recent Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian green card holder. This week, another Palestinian green card holder and Columbia student, Mohsen Mahdawi, was arrested by ICE—also for his peaceful pro-Palestine and anti-genocide student organizing. (Of course, instead of advocating for its students, Columbia’s administration swiftly agreed to all of the wildly overbearing demands the Trump administration made of them last month.) In the last month, hundreds of international students say they’ve had their student visas revoked without having committed any crimes. 

Notably, just a few months ago, in January, Trump issued sweeping pardons to the thousands of Jan. 6 insurrectionists. The administration also appears to have played a significant role in bringing the Tate brothers—misogynist influencers with extensive, self-admitted records of violence against women who face numerous rape and human trafficking allegations—home to the U.S. But alas, this is who the administration regards as the real threats: international students and the universities that dare to stand up for them.