Last Week, the Trump administration cut $400 million in grants from Columbia University for ignoring a probe into the school’s response – or lack thereof – to antisemitism on campus. Since then, things have gone from bad to worse. The administration is willing to reconsider the cut in funding, but only if the university acquiesces to a list of demands. That includes an overhaul of the admissions process and giving up some power on campus – for at least five years. On top of that, the FBI has now revealed it’s investigating potential terrorism crimes at Columbia and whether the institution had concealed illegal aliens, hiding them from federal authorities.
Straighten Up, or Else
NPR released a letter it obtained dated Thursday, March 13, in which the administration delivered a list of steps to Columbia’s interim president, Dr. Katrina Armstrong, that must be completed before any discussions of regaining funding can begin. “U.S. taxpayers invest enormously in U.S. colleges and universities, including Columbia University, and it is the responsibility of the federal government to ensure that all recipients are responsible stewards of federal funds,” it reads. The university, the letter argues, “fundamentally failed” to protect American students and staff from antisemitic attacks.
“Please ensure document compliance with the following no later than the close of business on Wednesday, March 20,2025,” the letter instructs.
To get the lost money back – and to prevent losing more in the future – Columbia must actually enforce its already existing disciplinary policies, ban masks on campus, establish an actionable definition for antisemitism, and “deliver a plan to hold all student groups accountable.” Many would argue that seems reasonable. But wait, there’s more.
The exclusive school must also reform its admission process and place the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies department under academic receivership – ceding power over the department to an outside party – for at least five years.
It Just Gets Worse for Columbia
To make matters worse for the Ivy League institution, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced this Friday that the Department of Justice would be “looking at whether Columbia’s handling of earlier incidents violated civil rights laws and included terrorist crimes.”
The Department of Homeland Security executed search warrants on two university-owned student rooms Thursday evening, though reportedly nothing was taken and nobody was arrested.
While Blanche did explain during his remarks on Friday that they were looking for illegals, he did not reveal specifically who. Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested on campus last Sunday, had his green card revoked. Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen and doctoral student at Columbia, lost her visa for “advocating for violence and terrorism” – allegations her lawyer denies. She chose to “self-deport” and left the country. Another foreign national, Leqaa Kordia, was arrested in Newark, New Jersey, on charges that she failed to leave after her student visa had been canceled for failure to attend school. She had previously been arrested at Columbia last spring during a protest on campus.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned the press on Friday that the Trump administration expects to revoke more student visas in the coming days. If the university doesn’t meet all the expectations laid out in the administration’s letter, it could lose all federal funding permanently. Meanwhile, Columbia’s board of trustees seems torn over how to respond, with some questioning whether they could ever do enough to satisfy the president now that they’re in his sights.
The board is divided, as is the staff, and the president is serving on an interim basis … that’s hardly a strong, unified front to face the federal government. Still, Joshua Mitts, co-chair of the board, told The Wall Street Journal he believes they’re taking it very seriously and that “there will be real action that is taken here.”
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