Trump throws another punch at Harvard — demands more social media vetting of visa applicants

The Trump medication is escalating its societal media vetting of visa applicants seeking to question to Harvard University, a State Department cablegram sent to diplomatic posts Friday shows.

The cablegram signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructs each U.S. missions and consulates overseas to instantly heighten the vetting of specified visa applicants, with the volition of expanding the scrutiny process implicit time.

The vetting volition spell beyond pupil applicants, according to the cablegram seen by NBC News, arsenic it besides includes faculty, employees, contractors, impermanent speakers and tourists.

The stepped-up vetting is intended to "address acute concerns of unit and anti-Semitism astatine Harvard University" and calls for vetting of "any nonimmigrant visa applicant seeking to question to Harvard University for immoderate purpose," the cablegram states. Non-immigrant visas are for impermanent introduction to the U.S.

In effect to an NBC News petition for remark connected the cable, a State Department spokesperson said, “The Department does not remark connected interior communications.”

NBC News besides has contacted Harvard for comment.

For the expanded societal media screening, consular offices person been told to place applicants with “histories of anti-Semitic harassment and violence, and to duly see their visa eligibility nether U.S. migration law.”

In those instructions, the cablegram criticizes what the medication described arsenic Harvard’s nonaccomplishment to support a field situation “free from unit and anti-Semitism."

The cablegram instructs U.S. consular officers to inquire visa applicants to acceptable each their societal media accounts to nationalist successful the lawsuit that they request to beryllium reviewed arsenic portion of the vetting.

The State Department besides instructed officers to “consider whether the deficiency of immoderate online presence, oregon having societal media accounts restricted to 'private' oregon with constricted visibility, whitethorn beryllium reflective of evasiveness and telephone into question the applicant’s credibility.”

On Tuesday, the medication stopped scheduling caller interviews for planetary students seeking visas to survey successful the U.S. The halt connected interviews was intended arsenic a precursor to the expanded societal media screening, allowing diplomatic and consular posts to hole for the larger and adjusted workload.

The vetting is different volley by the medication successful its ongoing conflict with Harvard and different universities.

Harvard has fought back against the administration's attempts to power the university's hiring and admissions, diverseness outreach and initiatives and overseas pupil enrollment. The medication has chopped billions successful probe to unit Harvard to cede to its demands.

On Thursday, a tribunal extended its barroom connected the Trump administration's attempt to revoke Harvard's quality to enroll planetary students.

The medication said successful its cablegram that the stepped-up societal media vetting of visa applicants to Harvard is simply a aviator programme that could beryllium expanded.

Other groups of visa applicants could beryllium included later, the medication said successful its cable.

Foreign students person been targeted by the administration, stripped of visas and arrested, detained and deported, including those who protested Israel's subject effect since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught connected Israel.

Rubio said connected Wednesday that the State Department would enactment with the Department of Homeland Security to "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students."