NEW YORK: The US government said Wednesday (Jul 9) it subpoenaed Harvard University for records linked to students allegedly involved in a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests that the Trump administration labelled antisemitic.

Since being sworn in again in January, President Donald Trump has targeted top US universities over claims they are politically biased towards anti-Jewish hate and "woke" politics.

Trump has waged a political and economic campaign against Harvard, stripping it of funds and demanding extensive records linked to foreign students, whom it has repeatedly attempted to block the prestigious university from enrolling and hosting.

The administration has characterised widespread campus protests and sit-ins in the United States calling for an end to Israel's war in Gaza as being "antisemitic," and moved to expel foreign students and professors who took part in them.

"After many previous requests to hand over relevant information concerning foreign students, DHS will now send subpoenas forcing Harvard to comply," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement.

Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that "Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus."

The subpoena demands that Harvard turn over "relevant records, communications, and other documents relevant to the enforcement of immigration laws since Jan 1, 2020," according to the statement.

RETALIATORY

Harvard said in a statement that "while the government's subpoenas are unwarranted, the University will continue to cooperate with lawful requests and obligations," adding that the measure was "retaliatory." Also on Wednesday, Washington told the body responsible for accrediting Harvard as a university that its accreditation should be revoked after finding last week that it violated federal civil rights laws by failing to protect Jewish students.   Harvard was among a host of US universities swept by the wave of student protests against the war in Gaza. Trump has made the question of student protests, particularly by foreign scholars, a flashpoint political issue. A proclamation issued by the White House last month sought to bar most new international students at Harvard from entering the country, and said existing foreign enrollees risked having their visas terminated.

Harvard challenged the move in court, and a judge blocked the administration from enforcing the policy.

International students at Harvard, who accounted for 27 per cent of total enrollment in the 2024-2025 academic year, are a major source of income for the Ivy League institution.

The government has already cut around US$3.2 billion of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts, institution from any future federal funding.

Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump's campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and "viewpoint diversity."

Unlike Harvard, several top institutions - including New York's Columbia University - have already bowed to far-reaching demands from the Trump administration.