The Conseil des rectrices et des recteurs francophones is shocked to learn that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has revoked the certification of Harvard University's Sevis (Student and Exchange Visitor) program, effective immediately. This program is the main system by which foreign students are authorized to study in the U.S.

Already, Harvard University has been subject to a freeze of over two billion dollars in subsidies for political reasons, and CRef notes that the U.S. federal political authority is amplifying its interference in academic freedom, this time threatening students' freedom of movement, one of its essential elements.

CRef wishes to express its solidarity with the American institutions targeted by these interferences. Deeply concerned by these developments, it will continue to monitor the situation of academic freedom in the United States, as everywhere else in the world, with the utmost attention.