Trump Targets Harvard in Anti-DEI Push

By Akayliah Simpson and Attiyya Atkins 

MIAMI — President Donald Trump’s administration is escalating its crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, with Harvard University now at the center of the storm. On May 22, federal officials barred Harvard from enrolling international students — who make up more than 27% of its undergraduates — and threatened to strip the school of its tax-exempt status. The move could cost Harvard billions in lost research funding and force students to transfer or lose their visas. 

The administration has also frozen federal research grants and demanded sweeping changes to admissions and hiring practices, part of a wider Department of Education review targeting more than 50 universities, including Columbia, Penn, Brown, Cornell and Princeton. Legal scholars and civil rights groups argue the measures are unconstitutional, while a federal judge has temporarily blocked the international student ban. 

Harvard’s Black community and faculty of color say the public fight does not reflect the reality inside the institution, which has faced internal criticism for its limited progress on equity. In its nearly 400-year history, Harvard has had only one Black president, Claudine Gay, who remains a professor after resigning amid political pressure. Several Black female professors researching race have also faced plagiarism allegations, deepening concerns about institutional bias. 

Observers say the legal battle could set the tone for higher education nationwide, with Trump’s policies threatening to roll back decades of affirmative action and DEI programs that began during the civil rights era. For now, Harvard stands as the most visible target in a fight many expect to end up in the courts — and possibly reshape academia for years to come. 

Sidebar: Affirmative Action at a Glance 

• 1961 — President John F. Kennedy signs Executive Order 10925, requiring federal contractors to “take affirmative action” to ensure equal opportunity. 

• 1978 — Supreme Court’s Regents of the University of California v. Bakke allows race as one factor in admissions but bans quotas. 

• 2003 — Grutter v. Bollinger upholds use of race in admissions at the University of Michigan Law School. 

• 2023 — Supreme Court strikes down race-conscious admissions at Harvard and UNC. 

• 2025 — Trump administration expands anti-DEI agenda, freezing grants, threatening Harvard’s tax status, and banning international enrollment before a federal judge blocks the move.