• Harvard said federal demands violate academic freedom.
• Some Harvard professors have sued Trump administrators.
• The U.S. government has frozen federal funds for many universities.

Harvard on Monday dismissed many of the Trump administration’s demands that would put control of schools to a conservative government that portrays universities as dangerous leftists.

Within hours at Harvard, President Donald Trump’s administration announced it would freeze $2.3 billion in federal funds to schools.

The Trump administration said last month that the frozen funding freeze was reviewing $9 billion in federal contracts and grants, part of its crackdown on its claimed anti-Semitism, which has erupted on university campuses during the Pro-Palestinian protests over the past 18 months.

On Monday, a working group in the Department of Education’s fight against anti-Semitism accused the oldest universities in the United States of America of having a “disturbing rights mentality, which is common among the most prestigious universities and colleges in our country, and federal investment is not accompanied by the responsibility to uphold civil rights laws.”

Exchanges escalate the high-risk dispute between the Trump administration and some of the world’s wealthiest universities, which has attracted attention to speech and academic freedom.

The government has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for numerous universities and urged institutions to make policy changes, citing what it says is the failure to fight anti-Semitism on campus.

The deportation process has begun to target some detained foreign students participating in the pro-Palestine demonstration, while visas for hundreds of other students have been cancelled.

Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in an open letter Monday that the Education Department’s request last week would give the federal government “control the Harvard community” and threaten the values ​​of schools because it is the values ​​of a private institution dedicated to pursuing, producing and disseminating knowledge.

“There is no government – no matter which party in power, it should be decided by which private universities can teach, who they can acknowledge and hire, and what areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Garber wrote.

However, he also said, observing the allegations of anti-Semitism: “When we defend Harvard, we will continue to develop a thriving culture of open inquiries on our campus; develop the tools, skills and practices needed to interact constructively with each other; and expand the diversity of knowledge and perspectives within the community.”

The anti-Semitism problem on campus broke out before Trump took office last year after protests at Pro-Palestinian students at several universities.

White House spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement Monday that Trump “supports higher education by ending unchecked anti-Semitism and ensuring federal taxpayers’ funds do not support Harvard’s violence against dangerous racial discrimination or racially motivated violence.”

The Education Department noted in a letter Friday that Harvard “failed to fulfill the intellectual and civil rights conditions of its federal investment defense.”

The department calls on Harvard to work to reduce the influence of faculty and students who are “more committed to radicalism than scholarships” and conduct external group reviews of faculty and students in each department to ensure “diversity of perspectives.”

The letter also states that by August, Harvard must only hire faculty and recruit students based on merit and all preferences based on race, color or nationality. Universities must also screen international students to “prevent the enrollment of hostile students to American values” and report foreign students who violate the rules of conduct to federal immigration authorities.

Last week, a group of Harvard professors sued to prevent the Trump administration’s review of nearly $9 billion in federal contracts and grants granted to schools.

The Trump administration is reportedly considering forcing fellow Colombians to sign a consent decree that would legally bind schools to follow federal guidelines to combat anti-Semitism. Some Columbia professors, such as Harvard University professors, have sued the federal government. The government has suspended $400 million in federal funds and allocated funds to Colombia.

Harvard President Garber said the federal government asked it to “review” its students, faculty and staff’s views to make left-wing thinkers generally opposed to the Trump administration, which clearly violated the university’s First Amendment right to freedom of expression.

“Universities will not waive their independence or waive their constitutional rights,” Garber wrote.

He added that while Harvard is taking steps to address anti-Semitism on campus, “these purposes do not control Harvard’s teaching and determine how we operate through legal claims.”

“The freedom of thought and inquiries, along with the government’s long-term commitment to respect and protection, enables universities to contribute to people everywhere in important ways to a free society and a healthier and more prosperous life,” Garber said.

Harvard University agreed in January to provide additional protections for Jewish students, accusing the Ivy League of the hotbed of anti-Semitism under the solution to the two lawsuits.

To alleviate the tightening of any critical funding created in federal funds, Harvard is working to borrow $750 million from Wall Street.