In this episode of "The No-Longer Hallowed Halls of Academia"...

"We have to do things the hard way." 

Those were the words of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin as she announced the department was sending a formal administrative subpoena to Harvard University over its alleged abuse of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) in conjunction with antisemitic protests that raged on the campus amid Israeli and Palestinian conflicts, which eventually led to an apology from Harvard president Alan Garber.

Apology or not, words are cheap without demonstrative action(s) related to the issue at hand.

McLaughlin told Fox News Digital:

We tried to do things the easy way with Harvard. Now, through their refusal to cooperate, we have to do things the hard way. Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus. If Harvard won’t defend the interests of its students, then we will.

As RedState reported on June 30, Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced that the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHSOCR) had found Harvard in violation of Title VI due to lack of action against overt acts of antisemitism on campus.

READ MORE: HHS Finds Harvard in Violation of Title VI Over Antisemitism on Campus

DHS sources also told Fox Digital that the department's only remaining option to gain access to repeatedly requested documents and other information (related to immigration law violations and other crimes) was via a formal subpoena, some of which the department has been requesting since January 1, 2020.

Refusing to comply with an administrative subpoena can result in serious consequences, including contempt of court, civil penalties, criminal penalties, obstruction of justice, injunctions, and freezing of assets, yet Harvard persists in largely blowing off the administration. 

In April, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem requested information from Harvard related to antisemitic activities. Noem vowed at the time that noncompliance would result in revocation of the university's Student and Exchange Visitor Program. 

As RedState reported at the time, Harvard sued the administration after President Donald Trump threatened to withhold billions of dollars in federal funding in response to continuing antisemitic activity on the Ivy League campus.

READ MORE: Instead of Fighting Antisemitism, Harvard Sues Trump Admin—and Some Jewish Students Are Appalled

Here's more:

Harvard sent some information to DHS following the initial request, though Noem deemed the Ivy League University’s data as an "insufficient, incomplete and unacceptable response."

In late May, DHS moved to formally revoke Harvard’s SEVP, impacting roughly a quarter of Harvard’s student body and preventing the university from issuing student visas and enrolling international students. 

Harvard responded to Noem’s canceling of the program with a lawsuit titled President and Fellows of Harvard College v. DHS, alleging that the Trump administration’s decision to block the SEVP was unconstitutional and retaliatory.

"It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the "ideology" of its faculty and students," Harvard wrote in its May complaint. 

U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs of Massachusetts, who was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2014, then granted a temporary restraining order request from Harvard after the lawsuit was filed.

The bottom line here is that the temporary restraining order allows Harvard to continue issuing visa documents and enrolling students through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

Interesting, isn't it, how Harvard (and multiple other left-wing institutions) err on the side of endorsing free speech in defense of allowing hate speech and harassment of those with whom they disagree?

Hypocrisy? To the max. 

The nation’s elite academic institutions have lost the plot and become full-on indoctrination centers. 

Trump is fighting back.

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