Trump Administration Orders "Extra Vetting" For Anyone Travelling To Harvard

Those looking to travel to Harvard University “for any purpose” will go through more extensive vetting. The State Department on Friday has instructed all US embassies and consulates to do the same starting “immediately”, per Reuters.

Such applicants include but are not limited to prospective students, students, faculty, employees, contractors, guest speakers, and tourists, the cable said. The word "any" in the cable text is written in bold format and underlined.

After the Trump administration tried to ban the Ivy League university from enrolling foreign students, a judge halted the ban. 

The State Department has said that the vetting measures are being taken to ensure "consular officers can appropriately identify" visa applicants with "histories of anti-Semitic harassment and violence, and to duly consider the visa eligibility under U.S. immigration law," CNN stated in a report citing a diplomatic cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Per the cable, dated May 30th, if an individual seeks to work at, attend or otherwise visit to Harvard, in the prescreening or interviewing process, consular offices have been instructed to refuse the visa "pending review of their online presence” - which would essentially mean screening of their online presence, including social media.

"As in all instances in which an applicant fails to provide certain information on request, consular officers should consider whether the lack of any online presence, or having social media accounts restricted to 'private' or with limited visibility, may be reflective of evasiveness and call into question the applicant's credibility," the cable reportedly said.

"If you are not personally and completely satisfied that the applicant, during his time in the United States, will engage in activities consistent with his non-immigrant visa status, you should refuse the visa...," the cable said.

Rubio said recently that he has personally revoked the visas of hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, which include students, since they got involved in activities that go against US foreign policy.

"If you're coming here to create problems, you're probably going to have a problem," Rubio told reporters on April 7. "We're not going to continue to be stupid enough to let people into our country who are coming here to tear things up."