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First, Trump came for our federal funding. Now he is coming for our students.

In a letter sent to Harvard last Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security threatened to revoke the University’s eligibility to host international students unless it shares their disciplinary records and protest participation. The letter came only days after Harvard publicly rejected the Trump administration’s expanded demands and the federal government’s $2.2 billion funding freeze.

This move reveals the human cost of Trump’s attack on higher education — a cost that has manifested as dehumanizing cruelty towards our invaluable population of international students — while simultaneously threatening Harvard’s academic mission. Still, Trump’s siege will not stop there. For the sake of universities nationwide, Harvard must continue to fight and ensure the barrage from the White House is withstood.

If Harvard refuses to capitulate to the demands outlined in the Wednesday letter, the DHS will rescind the certification that allows the University to host international students on visas. Our friends, roommates, and peers will be forced to transfer universities, find another option to keep their immigration status legal, or leave the country.

International students are irreplaceable parts of our Harvard community. Now, we’re hearing from some of these very students that they’re canceling summer plans, scared to return home and see their families, afraid to pen op-eds, and pressured to clear their internet presence — all out of fear induced by threats from the Trump administration.

Alongside the potential damage Trump’s ire will cause our pers, the DHS letter represents a new threat to Harvard’s academic mission by harming the ability of our international scholars — students and researchers alike — to contribute to the intellectual work of our University.

In the face of heightened scrutiny from the federal government, international researchers may slow or cease research in critical subject areas due to fear of retaliation by the Trump administration. Federal research grants may already induce scrutiny for a mere mention of words like “bias,” “equality,” “LGBTQ,” “race,” and “women” — international researchers with precarious legal statuses might feel additional pressure to modify their scholarship to stay out of the limelight.

Simultaneously, international students may hesitate to protest, write, or engage in any activity that could be deemed oppositional to the White House, stifling their ability to fully contribute on campus.

If Harvard capitulates to Trump’s most recent demands, future generations of international students and scholars may not see a place for themselves at Harvard. For a school touted for its international community, that would be a devastating loss.

There is little reason to believe Trump will stop his assault at international students. It seems as though once Washington discovered withholding funding would not force compliance, international students became the latest victim held hostage. The language and flavor of the administration’s crusade — which implies international students are dispensable and deserving of intense scrutiny — is xenophobic.

Harvard must respond with legal action while providing comprehensive support to international students. The University has offered increased resources since Wednesday — including legal information sessions and a lengthy set of immigration FAQs — and it must continue to support the most vulnerable members of our community.

The battle to keep the American university alive starts in Cambridge — it can’t be won until all institutions stand shoulder‑to‑shoulder to defend the students who make them worth saving.

This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of The Crimson Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings. In order to ensure the impartiality of our journalism, Crimson editors who choose to opine and vote at these meetings are not involved in the reporting of articles on similar topics.

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