Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem cuts $2.7 million in Harvard grants to demand visa records
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem canceled a $2.7 million DHS grant at Harvard on Wednesday.
Norm announced in a statement that two grants from the university were cancelled and announced that the Massachusetts Ivy League agency was “not willing to entrust taxpayers’ money.”
The university has been ordered to submit records by April 30, or may lose its certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to recruit international students.
“Because of anti-American, pro-Hammas ideology poisons campuses and classrooms, Harvard's status as a top institution in higher education is a distant memory,” Norm said in a statement. “The United States requires universities to entrust taxpayers dollars to demand more.”
Trump administrator asks IRS to revoke Harvard's tax-free status
The cancelled grants include the $800,303 “Implementation Science for Targeted Violence Prevention” award, which DHS says classifies conservatives as far-right extremists, and a $1,934,902 “Blue Campaign Assessment and Violence Consultation” grant to Noem’s public health information, which describes Noem’s office as ideologically.
The move comes after President Donald Trump's decision to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funds to Harvard University and demanded that the IRS revoke its tax-exempt status.
People exit Harvard yard at Harvard University on the Harvard campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts and pass through the gate. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
According to sources within the Department of Justice (DOJ), the IRS is currently reviewing the university's 501(c)(3) nonprofit name. A final decision has not been made.
Trump criticized Harvard leaders and teachers in a social media post, wrote: “Harvard has been hiring nearly all awakened, radical left, idiot and 'bird brain’ who can only teach the loss of students’ failures and so-called 'future leaders' teachings. He continued, “Harvard is a joke that teaches hatred and stupidity and no longer accepts federal fun.”
Stefanik
The Department of Homeland Security’s actions followed the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 amid a wider crackdown on anti-Semitism on campus.
In the months since, Harvard faces criticism of anti-Semitic rhetoric and protests involving students and faculty. Neum's letter references “Foreign Visa-style Thugs” and called on Harvard to provide documents on its actions.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Harvard is one of the richest institutions in the world, with a $53.2 billion endowment fund. The Department of Homeland Security stressed that universities have the ability to fund their programs and that taxpayers should not rely on taxpayers’ money if they do not comply with federal student conduct and institutional accountability.
Harvard has not publicly responded to the grant or the termination of the DHS demand for records.
The Ministry of Education is also reviewing universities. Education Secretary Linda McMahon recently launched a federal contract of more than $255.6 million, involving nearly $9 billion in grants from Harvard University and its affiliates.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. (Ken Cedeno/upi/Bloomberg via Getty Image)
“Harvard failed to protect students on campus from anti-Semitism, while promoting separatist ideology rather than free inquiries,” McMahon said.
Shortly after similar actions against Columbia University, the agency said it failed to fulfill its civil rights and national security obligations as the federal government enforced it.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Norm's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Andrea Margolis and Alexis McAdams of Fox News contributed to the report.
