Harvard University sued the Trump administration over the freezing of federal funds

Harvard University in the United States has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing the government of attempting to control the academic decisions of Harvard University by freezing federal funds.

Xinhua News Agency reported that Harvard University President Garber said in a letter to members of the Harvard community on Monday (April 21) that Harvard has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in the federal District Court of Massachusetts, demanding that the government stop the fund freeze. This move by the government is illegal and "beyond the government's authority".

Gabor said that in the past week, in response to Harvard University's refusal to comply with its "illegal demands", the federal government has taken a series of actions. Besides initially announcing the freezing of 2.2 billion US dollars (about 2.87 billion Singapore dollars) in funds, it is also considering freezing another 1 billion US dollars in grants. Launching multiple investigations into the operations of Harvard University, threatening the education of international students, and announcing considerations to revoke Harvard University's tax exemption status, etc. These practices "have a serious and realistic impact" on students, faculty and staff, researchers, and the global position of American higher education.

The US media believe that this lawsuit marks a "major escalation" in the ongoing struggle between the US higher education sector and President Trump.

Trump administration officials sent a letter to Harvard University on the 11th, demanding that Harvard carry out "meaningful governance reform and reorganization", otherwise federal funds will be cut. On the 14th, Harvard University rejected this request from the Trump administration. The Trump administration announced later that day that it would freeze a total of $2.2 billion in multi-year grants to schools and $60 million in multi-year contract payments. On the 16th, US Homeland Security Secretary Noam demanded that Harvard University share information on the "illegal and violent activities" of foreign student visa holders at the school as required by the Trump administration, otherwise it would lose the qualification to recruit foreign students and exchange scholars.

Since January this year, the Trump administration has threatened many American colleges and universities, claiming that if the schools do not adjust their policies, they will face the consequence of funding cuts. The main demands of the Trump administration include eradicating so-called anti-Semitism and abolishing diversity measures in colleges and universities that favor ethnic minorities. Against the backdrop of the Israel-Palestine conflict, a series of protests in support of Palestine broke out in many universities in the United States last year, drawing the attention of the Trump administration to anti-Semitic sentiment on campus.