Trump administration subpoenas Harvard for 'foreign student information'

Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald on Jul 9, 2025

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The Department of Homeland Security announced it has subpoenaed Harvard for “foreign student information” Wednesday, the latest escalation in a long back and forth between the university and Trump administration.

“If Harvard won’t defend the interests of its students, then we will,” the Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X. “We tried to do things the easy way with Harvard. Now, through their refusal to cooperate, we have to do things the hard way. Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus.”

The department did not immediately state what information related to foreign students has been subpoenaed or what the information may be used for.

Harvard responded Wednesday, stating that while the subpoenas are “unwarranted,” the university “will continue to cooperate with lawful requests and obligations.”

“The administration’s ongoing retaliatory actions come as Harvard continues to defend itself and its students, faculty, and staff against harmful government overreach aimed at dictating whom private universities can admit and hire, and what they can teach,” a Harvard spokesperson stated. “Harvard remains unwavering in its efforts to protect its community and its core principles against unfounded retribution by the federal government.”

Harvard has faced mounting sanctions from the Trump administration since the spring, including an initial loss of $2.6 billion in research grants. The federal government has demanded the university come into compliance with a long list of demands related to hiring, governance, admissions and more, which Harvard’s leadership initially rejected.

On June 20, President Donald Trump posted on X that the long conflict with Harvard may be resolved soon, stating the university has “acted extremely appropriately.”

However, on June 30, a federal task force released finding that Harvard was a “willful participant” in antisemitic harassment and threatened to have the Justice Department file a civil rights case. A civil rights violation could jeopardize all federal funding to the university, including student aid.

A lawsuit filed by Harvard seeking to unfreeze $2.6 billion in federal funding is set to advance in a hearing on July 21.

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