The US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristy Noem, has ordered the termination of the Harvard University certificate for the right to conduct a student exchange program. Foreigners planning to study in the United States must obtain a Class F or M visa. Only educational institutions certified for admission of students and participants of exchange programs (SEVP) can issue the necessary documents for obtaining a visa, BBC.News reports.

This means that Harvard will no longer be able to accept international students. Foreigners who are already studying at Harvard will be forced to transfer to another university, otherwise they will lose the right to stay in the country.

According to the university, about 7,000 international students studied at Harvard last academic year, which is 27.2% of the total number of students.

In a statement, Harvard called the Trump administration's move illegal.

"We are fully committed to preserving Harvard's ability to host international students and scholars who come from more than 140 countries and enrich the University - and this country immeasurably," Harvard said in a statement.

"This act of retaliation threatens to cause serious harm to the Harvard community and our country and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission," the university said in a statement.

In mid-April, the U.S. Department of Education announced the freezing of federal grants to Harvard. The reason for this was the university's refusal to comply with the department's requirements, including an audit of the "views of students and staff."

In particular, the university was required to develop a system that would prevent the admission of foreign students who were "hostile to American values and institutions. And also to conduct an audit (again, with the involvement of third-party experts) of programs that have been detected in anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred.

The university refused to comply with these requirements, which was followed by Trump's threats to deprive Harvard of a special tax status and the opportunity to accept international students.

The university sued the administration, demanding the restoration of funding.