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DULLES: The first group of Afrikaners from South Africa to arrive for resettlement listen to remarks from US officials after they arrived in Dulles, Virginia, on May 12, 2025. — AFP
DULLES: The first group of Afrikaners from South Africa to arrive for resettlement listen to remarks from US officials after they arrived in Dulles, Virginia, on May 12, 2025. — AFP

Harvard cuts, wartime law, Afrikaner refugees: US crackdown roundup

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration continued its sweeping campaign against perceived ideological opponents on Wednesday, targeting Harvard University with fresh funding cuts and publicly rebuking the Episcopal Church over its refusal to resettle white South African refugees. A Trump-appointed judge has also ruled in support of using a centuries-old wartime law to deport migrants.

Harvard loses more funding

The US government announced a new round of funding cuts to Harvard University, terminating $450 million in federal grants. This follows last week’s decision to slash $2.2 billion in funding across multiple federal agencies. In a statement announcing the cuts, the Department of Health and Human Services cited what officials called a “dark problem” of discrimination at the Ivy League institution.

The cuts come just one day after Harvard President Alan Garber appeared to extend an olive branch, stating in a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon that the university shares “common ground on a number of critical issues” with the Trump administration. Garber highlighted reforms implemented after a tumultuous academic year following the Gaza war, including measures to combat antisemitism on campus.

Despite this, the administration appears unswayed. A legal filing released Tuesday revealed that in at least one case, the National Institutes of Health rejected the possibility of reinstating a terminated grant, stating there was “no corrective action possible.” Garber, while defending Harvard’s nonpartisan stance, acknowledged the need for greater intellectual diversity and clarified that admissions are based on individual merit, not race.

The Trump administration’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism condemned Harvard as “a breeding ground for virtue signaling and discrimination,” accusing university leadership of failing to prevent harassment and physical attacks on Jewish students.

Court backs wartime law deportations

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration may legally invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to deport suspected gang members, including individuals alleged to belong to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua (TdA) organization.

Judge Stephanie Haines, appointed by Trump, upheld the administration’s controversial use of the law—originally enacted to remove foreign nationals during wartime—in a case related to a Venezuelan man identified only as A.S.R. While she mandated that deportees must receive at least 21 days' notice, her ruling opens the door for additional removals in her Pennsylvania district.

The administration had used the AEA in March to deport alleged TdA members to a high-security prison in El Salvador, claiming they posed a national security threat. Critics argue that many deportees had no criminal record and were targeted based on tattoos. Nevertheless, Haines described the group as intent on “destabilizing the United States” and justified the expulsions on grounds of public safety. The ruling comes amid ongoing legal challenges in the Supreme Court and other lower courts that have temporarily halted some deportations under the AEA due to due process concerns.

White House blasts Episcopal Church

The administration also clashed with the Episcopal Church this week after it refused to help resettle around 50 white South Africans granted refugee status by Trump under a controversial directive. Citing “unspeakable horrors” faced by Afrikaners—descendants of European colonizers in South Africa—White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly accused the church of abandoning its humanitarian mission. The Trump administration claims the group faces genocide, a claim widely discredited by the South African government and international observers.

The Episcopal Church, however, announced it would terminate its $50 million federal refugee resettlement program rather than comply. Presiding Bishop Sean W Rowe criticized the administration for selectively prioritizing one ethnic group over millions of other vulnerable refugees, calling the policy inconsistent with the church’s values of racial justice.

The US Embassy has confirmed that only individuals of Afrikaner ethnicity or racial minorities in South Africa are eligible under the program. The Episcopal Church said that it could not comply with Trump's order "in light of our church's steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation." It said its programs with the US federal government would be wound up by the end of the fiscal year, but that its work on refugee resettlement would continue, including supporting recently arrived refugees from around the world. — Agencies

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