Harvard warns foreign students on airport scrutiny, social media posts

Harvard warned students that US officials can check social media and devices during visa and border checks, and deny entry based on content found by State Dept or Customs and Border Protection

By Anika Arora Seth, Emma Haidar and Brunella Tipismana Urbano

 

Harvard University staff advised international students to be cautious about social media posts and warned some groups against arriving at Boston’s Logan International Airport. 

 

Representatives from Harvard’s international office and a Harvard Law School immigration support group held a call on Thursday to provide guidance to foreign students after the university won a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s efforts to block its ability to enroll such individuals. 

 

The Harvard administrators cautioned students that State Department officials have the ability to review social media accounts for student visa applicants, while US Customs and Border Protection can examine personal electronic devices and reject entry based on their contents, according to students who participated, asking not to be identified because the call was private.  

 

The Harvard representatives said it’s not clear whether this assessment is done by people or artificial intelligence and what exactly constitutes a red flag, although pro-Palestinian, antisemitic or posts derogatory of the US appear to be a focus, according to the students. Previous interactions with law enforcement, including minor infractions, will also attract attention. The Harvard representatives cautioned that wiping devices clean risks inviting suspicion, according to the students. 

 

The hosts of the call included Maureen Martin, Harvard’s director of immigration services, and Jason Corral, a staff attorney at Harvard Law School’s immigration and refugee clinic, the students said. A representative for Harvard’s international office declined to comment. 

 

The Harvard representatives advised Iranians and Chinese nationals studying in particular fields — including science, technology, engineering and mathematics as well as anything related to AI — to exercise particular caution when traveling, according to the students. 

 

Iranians specifically have faced more scrutiny at Logan Airport and should fly into New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport instead, Corral said on the call, according to the students. It’s not clear if other international students would face smoother immigration processes at other airports but several participants said they walked away from the call with the understanding that JFK, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport may be better options than Boston. 

 

Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born Harvard researcher, was stopped by immigration officials at Logan Airport in February on her return from France and accused of attempting to smuggle frog embryos into the country. She was released on bail from federal custody by a Boston judge in June after spending four months in detention but indicted on additional charges later that month.  

 

A representative for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which oversees Logan Airport, referred all questions to Harvard. 

 

The White House has made Harvard its primary target in its mission to reshape higher education. In addition to the attempted crackdown on international student enrollment, the Trump administration has canceled more than $2.6 billion in research funding for Harvard and threatened its tax-exempt status. The government initially accused the school of fostering antisemitism, but the attack has since broadened to include accusations of political bias and criticism of diversity initiatives in hiring and admissions.  

 

It’s not clear if Harvard students are being treated differently than those at other universities. The Trump administration is appealing the injunction over its ban on Harvard’s international student enrollment.