UNITED States President Donald Trump’s administration has imposed a $2.2 billion freeze on federal funding to Harvard University on Monday, April 14, after the school declined to comply with a series of broad demands from the White House.
The White House issued a list of demands to Harvard on April 3, stating they were aimed at combating antisemitism on campus.
The demands called for reforms to Harvard’s governance, hiring practices, and admissions policies, including directives to close diversity offices and collaborate with immigration authorities to screen international students.
Harvard President Alan Garber, in a letter to students and faculty, pledged to stand firm against the government, declaring that the university would not “negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights.”
Trump’s Joint Task Force to combat Anti-Semitism responded with a statement announcing a $2.2 billion suspension of multi-year grants, along with a freeze on $60 million in government contracts.
“Harvard’s statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation’s most prestigious universities and colleges — that federal investment does not come with the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws,” it said.
“The disruption of learning that has plagued campuses in recent years is unacceptable. The harassment of Jewish students is intolerable. It is time for elite universities to take the problem seriously and commit to meaningful change if they wish to continue receiving taxpayer support.”
It’s worth recalling that campuses across the United States were shaken last year by student protests opposing Israel’s war in Gaza, some of which escalated into violent clashes with police and pro-Israel counter-protesters.
Trump and other Republicans have accused the activists of backing Hamas, an American-designated terrorist organisation whose deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggered the ongoing conflict.
In March, the Department of Education announced it had launched an investigation into 60 colleges and universities over alleged “anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination.”
The ICIR reported on April 2, that the United States government revoked the visas of hundreds of international students and carried out arrests over alleged support for Hamas.
This was revealed by the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who said that about 300 students were targeted in the last week of March as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown titled, “Catch and Revoke.”
According to Rubio, the programme utilises artificial intelligence to monitor and flag individuals engaged in activism perceived as supporting extremist groups.
Garber’s letter followed the administration’s decision to place $9 billion in federal funding for Harvard and its affiliates under review, marking the start of its demands.
On Friday, April 12, the government sent Harvard a more detailed list, demanding an “audit” of the views of students and faculty, which the university then made public.
Harvard generated an operating surplus of $45 million on a revenue base of $6.5 billion in the last financial year.
Garber stated that the university was “open to new information and different perspectives,” but would not comply with demands that “exceed the lawful authority of this or any administration.”
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Garber said.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.