The Trump administration opened a new front in its battle with Harvard University on Tuesday, announcing it would investigate the school’s eligibility to sponsor certain visas.
The State Department did not specify any alleged violations in its letter to Harvard, but noted participants in the Exchange Visitor Programme, which allow foreigners into the US temporarily, “are required to fully comply with exchange visitor regulations”.
Harvard called the probe “yet another retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights.”
The school has previously sued the government over attempts to revoke its federal funding and ability to host foreign academics.
The Exchange Visitor Programme is designed to promote cultural and educational opportunities for foreign applicants. A wide range of individuals, from physicians to interns to au pairs, can apply for visas, which are often sponsored by universities and other educational organizations.
“Visa sponsorship is a privilege, and sponsors whose conduct tarnishes our nation’s interests will lose that privilege,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X.
The Trump administration has accused Harvard of failing to combat antisemitism on campus and sought to restrict funding and visas for the oldest university in the country.
This spring, the administration threw Harvard into chaos when it temporarily revoked the the university’s ability to host academics and students through a different program, the Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP).
Harvard sued the government, alleging it has violated the school’s free speech rights, and the case is ongoing. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the administration’s order while the case plays out.
Lawyers for the school appeared in federal court on Boston on Monday in a separate lawsuit over the Trump administration’s attempt to freeze more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in federal grants.
Harvard attorney Steven Lehotsky alleged the government was trying to control the “inner workings” of the university buy cutting off funding.
“The administration has given no consideration to patients, the public at large and the harm of all this research being cut off,” he told Judge Allison Burroughs.
Michael Velchick, representing the government, said Harvard “prioritised campus protesters over cancer research” and had violated executive orders aimed at combatting antisemitism.
