Trump targets Harvard visa applicants with new social media checks over anti-semitism concerns

The vetting will go beyond student applicants and includes faculty, employees, contractors, guest speakers and tourists, according to the cable seen by NBC News.

The Trump administration is escalating its social media vetting of visa applicants seeking to travel to Harvard University, a State Department cable sent to diplomatic posts Friday shows.

The cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructs all U.S. missions and consulates abroad to immediately enhance the vetting of such visa applicants, with the intention of expanding the scrutiny process over time.

The vetting will go beyond student applicants, according to the cable seen by NBC News, as it also includes faculty, employees, contractors, guest speakers and tourists.

The stepped-up vetting is intended to "address acute concerns of violence and anti-Semitism at Harvard University" and calls for vetting of "any nonimmigrant visa applicant seeking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose," the cable states. Non-immigrant visas are for temporary entry to the U.S.

In response to an NBC News request for comment on the cable, a State Department spokesperson said, “The Department does not comment on internal communications.”