The Trump administration has opened investigation after investigation against Harvard University, not because the law demands it, but because Harvard has refused to bend to political pressure.

Over the past year, the administration has launched federal probes into Harvard's admissions practices, its handling of antisemitism, its enrollment of foreign students and U.S. military members, and now the financial aid programs funded by Chinese donors. A federal judge has already blocked the White House from cutting billions of dollars in Harvard's federal research funding, ruling that the administration exceeded its authority.

The latest investigation targets scholarships that Chinese donors have restricted to students from specific countries. The Justice Department's legal theory, that private donors choosing to restrict their own gifts amounts to civil rights discrimination against Americans, is an unprecedented stretch of anti-discrimination law. If it holds, it could threaten donor-designated scholarships for ethnic communities, international students, and underrepresented groups at universities across the country.

International students are not a threat to American education. They contribute billions of dollars to U.S. research, make up the backbone of graduate programs in science and engineering, and often stay to build companies and careers here. Driving them out through visa restrictions, enrollment caps, and now targeting their financial aid weakens American universities and the research they produce.

Harvard is not above scrutiny. But there is a difference between legitimate oversight and a targeted campaign to force a university into obedience. Congress must step in. Demand that your representatives protect the independence of American universities from politically motivated federal investigations. Sign this petition now.