Trump signs proclamation to suspend student visas at Harvard University

The two-page proclamation signed by the president on Wednesday stated that Harvard has “demonstrated a history of concerning foreign ties and radicalism. The FBI has long warned that foreign adversaries take advantage of easy access to American higher education to steal information, exploit research and development and spread false information.

As per an internal cable seen by Reuters, the State Department had ordered all its consular missions overseas last month to begin additional vetting of visa applicants looking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose.

According to the State Department’s internal cable, Harvard had seen a “drastic rise in crime in recent years while failing to discipline at least some categories of conduct violations on campus,” Reuters reported.

The Trump administration further accused Harvard University of receiving $150 million from China and stated it as “extensive entanglements with foreign adversaries.” The proclamation added that many agitators on the campus related to antisemitic incidents were found to be foreign students.

The Wednesday’s notice further accused Harvard of failing to provide sufficient details of foreign students’ “known illegal or dangerous activities” to the US Department of Homeland Security.

Trump has alleged that top US universities have become “cradles of the anti-American movement”. The Trump administration has already frozen billions of dollars of grants and other funding, ending Harvard’s tax-exempt status among others.

(with inputs from Reuters)