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Rumors of Immigration and Custom Enforcement activity have permeated college campuses across the country. But while other college administrators have jumped to dispel rumors, Harvard has largely stayed quiet.
Rumors of ICE activity reverberated throughout Harvard’s campus last week as more than 500 people protested the Trump administration. Though two HUPD officers present at the protest said that they were not aware of any ICE officials present on campus, HUPD and the University did not issue any clarifying statements.
Five international students interviewed by The Crimson said they were frustrated by the University’s lack of communication, adding they would like to see increased transparency from leadership.
“Harvard says that they’re committed to protecting international students, but they won’t inform us if it was actually ICE or not ICE on campus,” Devangana Rana ’25, an international student from India, said. “That has been kind of sad to see.”
While Harvard’s Executive Vice President Meredith L. Weenick ’90 sent an email two days after the protest sharing resources from the Harvard International Office, she did not address the ICE rumors.
“The Harvard International Office (HIO) will continue to provide the international community with regularly updated guidance,” Weenick wrote, pointing students to their HIO advisers and the office’s guidance page.
Similar rumors have circulated at Yale, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the University of California, Berkeley in the past month. In each case, administrators publicly dispelled the rumors — with administrators at Yale and at UMass Amherst responding within 24 hours.
A Harvard spokesperson declined to comment on whether the University will notify affiliates of ICE presence — or lack thereof.
The federal government’s continued revocations of thousands of student visas and the arrests of multiple graduate students at other universities have fueled rumors at Harvard, though none have been substantiated.
After ICE agents arrested Rumeysa Ozturk — a Turkish national and graduate student at Tufts University — last month, administrators were quick to notify affiliates. An initial email sent just hours after her arrest confirmed that the University was not told of her arrest, and publicized available campus resources.
A week later, Tufts administrators released their declaration supporting Ozturk’s immediate return to Massachusetts.
Seven current students and five recent graduates have had their student visas revoked as of Monday. Still, no students have been arrested on Harvard’s campus.
In an April 16 letter, the Department of Homeland Security threatened to revoke Harvard’s eligibility to enroll international students unless the school submits information on international students’ protest participation.
The letter calls on Harvard to hand over information on visa holders’ “obstruction of the school’s learning environment” and any disciplinary actions “taken as a result of making threats to other students or populations or participating in protests.”
But outgoing Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana declined to say whether the University would comply with the demands in a Tuesday interview.
“The University and the College will follow the law,” Khurana said, referring all questions about Harvard’s obligations to the Office of the General Counsel and the HIO.
—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart.
—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.
