Judge halts Trump administration from disabling Harvard's admittance of international students
A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration's decision to revoke Harvard University's ability to enroll or retain its international students. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded the university's international student certification on Thursday. The move prevented Harvard from admitting new foreign students and forced current international students to either transfer or risk losing their legal status.
Under the order, international students can continue their studies at the university. The next hearing for the case will take place next week. As of yet, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security have not responded to a request for comment.
Harvard University filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Friday, a day after the federal government announced it would prevent the nation's oldest university from enrolling foreign students. In a complaint filed in a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, Harvard argued that the administration's efforts to block foreign students from enrollment violated the university's First Amendment rights, potentially transforming its ability to function.
The complaint alleges that the government's actions are a form of retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment right to control its governance, curriculum, and the "ideology" of its faculty and students. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin called the lawsuit an attempt to "kneecap the President's constitutionally vested powers."
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson stated that Harvard should focus on creating a safe campus environment. "If only Harvard cared this much about ending the scourge of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators on their campus, they wouldn't be in this situation to begin with," she said. The State Department and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The editorial board of the Crimson, the school's student newspaper, released an op-ed ahead of the lawsuit's announcement, criticizing the Trump administration's actions against the university. "In his ongoing feud with Harvard, Trump has decided that Harvard's 6,000 international students are acceptable collateral damage. They studied at America's most storied institution. Through no fault of their own, they may leave with nothing."
The university had previously refused to comply with sweeping reforms from the administration's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, which included decisions over who Harvard could admit or hire and subjecting its faculty to a government audit. Harvard's president, Alan M. Garber, condemned the administration's decision, stating that it "imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams."
The lawsuit marks the second time Harvard has filed a lawsuit against the administration in recent weeks. In August, Harvard sued the administration to recover over $2 billion in federal research funding that the administration had stripped from the university after it refused the reforms.
- The temporary restraining order issued by Judge Buroughs enables international students to continue their education and self-development at Harvard University.
- The lawsuit filed by Harvard University against the Trump administration alleges that the government's actions, such as withholding funding and preventing enrollment, are a form of policy and legislation retaliation for the university's First Amendment rights.
- The ongoing legal battle between Harvard University and the Trump administration, which includes disputes over funding and education-and-self-development policies, is also accompanied by general news coverage and politically charged commentary from both sides.
