Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by Harvard Salient on May 22, 2025. With edits to match Minding the Campus’s styleguidles, it is crossposted here with permission. 

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) moved to suspend international students’ current and future enrollment at Harvard University, citing serious concerns about national security, institutional noncompliance, and a campus climate increasingly hostile to federal oversight. While the enforcement of this decision has been paused, the broader question cannot be ignored: What is Harvard’s role as an American institution?

Harvard is not a sovereign entity. Claiming a public mission, she operates under the protection of American law and has, until recently, reaped the benefits of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds. Yet in practice, she often acts as though she is answerable to no one—not to Congress, not to the courts, and certainly not to the American people.

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According to the DHS, Harvard has recklessly disregarded her legal responsibilities under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. These alleged violations include improperly monitoring international students, ignoring basic compliance requirements tied to her participation in federal immigration programs, and refusing to disclose foreign funding, especially from actors tied to the Chinese Communist Party. If these claims are valid, Harvard has grossly violated the public trust.

As the legal battle unfolds, one truth must remain clear: Harvard exists to form American leaders in service of American ideals. She owes nothing to those diametrically opposed to the American vision or way of life.

The Harvard Salient stands with the rule of law, ordered liberty, and the renewal of American higher education. The United States is a Nation of People bound by more than geography. We have a shared civic and moral purpose. If Harvard truly seeks to lead, she must begin by fostering order, respecting the nation that has faithfully sustained her, and speaking the truth, however unpopular it may be in the Yard.

Cover by Jared Gould using image of Harvard on Unsplash by Clay Banks & image of Donald Trump by Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons