The Trump Administration and International Student Enrollment at Harvard
By Richard Y. Rodgers
Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) moved to suspend international students’ current and future enrollment at Harvard University, citing serious concerns about national security, institutional noncompliance, and a campus climate increasingly hostile to federal oversight. While the enforcement of this decision has been paused, the broader question cannot be ignored: What is Harvard’s role as an American institution?
Harvard is not a sovereign entity. Claiming a public mission, she operates under the protection of American law and has, until recently, reaped the benefits of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds. Yet in practice, she often acts as though she is answerable to no one—not to Congress, not to the courts, and certainly not to the American people.
According to the DHS, Harvard has recklessly disregarded her legal responsibilities under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. These alleged violations include improperly monitoring international students, ignoring basic compliance requirements tied to her participation in federal immigration programs, and refusing to disclose foreign funding, especially from actors tied to the Chinese Communist Party. If these claims are valid, Harvard has grossly violated the public trust.
As the legal battle unfolds, one truth must remain clear: Harvard exists to form American leaders in service of American ideals. She owes nothing to those diametrically opposed to the American vision or way of life.
The Harvard Salient stands with the rule of law, ordered liberty, and the renewal of American higher education. The United States is a Nation of People bound by more than geography. We have a shared civic and moral purpose. If Harvard truly seeks to lead, she must begin by fostering order, respecting the nation that has faithfully sustained her, and speaking the truth, however unpopular it may be in the Yard.
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Well said, Salient leadership! Harvard has drifted off course in recent decades and needs to recommit to its basic mission and role in the world.
Harvard, at 389 years old, seems to be passing through its unruly, adolescent years. Just like a petulant teenager, she must endure both a reckoning of her behavior and as well as disciplinary action in order to experience a little humility. America's oldest educational jewel belongs to us, not to foreign students with nefarious intentions. I applaud your efforts at The Salient to take your university back.