US Court Halts Trump’s Ban on Foreign Students at Harvard

A Boston federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that would have kept international students from enrolling at Harvard University.

Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order on Friday, May 23, stating the administration's directive would cause "immediate and irreparable injury" to the university.

This decision was only hours after Harvard filed a lawsuit opposing the administration's action. The lawsuit was a reaction to the previous day's statement from the Department of Homeland Security that it would be rescinding Harvard's permission to admit international students—a move that was met with an instant response from the school, one of the country's most venerable and esteemed institutions of higher learning.

Harvard depends heavily on its overseas students, several of whom are among the best performers academically. The institution warned that excluding these students from attending threatened to jeopardize its future.

Harvard's Strong Rebuttal
Harvard President Alan M. Garber spoke out on behalf of the community in a letter sent out on the morning of May 23, deploring the administration's action as "unlawful and unwarranted." He emphasized that the directive "jeopardizes the futures of thousands of students and scholars throughout Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others in colleges and universities nationwide who have immigrated to America to continue their education and realize their dreams.

In its lawsuit, Harvard accused the Trump administration of initiating a “campaign of retribution” against the university. This followed the administration’s announcement on Thursday that it had withdrawn Harvard’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, a key requirement for enrolling international students. Without this certification, Harvard cannot legally accept foreign students.

Harvard’s Earlier Legal Battle
This suit was Harvard's second court battle against the federal government in a matter of months. Before that, Harvard had sued claiming that the administration was punishing the university for standing up for its constitutional rights. That suit centered on Harvard's autonomy in its governance structure, academic curriculum, and the ideas of its faculty and students.

The complaint asserted that the government's actions constituted "clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to manage Harvard's governance, curriculum and the 'ideology' of its faculty and students." It continued, "With the stroke of a pen, the government has attempted to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute immensely to the university and its mission. Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.

White House Pushback
The Trump administration has countered that Harvard did not fulfill some of the demands contained in an April 16 letter. The demands were included such as documentation of protests for the last five years, video recordings of misconduct, and information on disciplinary actions concerning international students.

On May 22, the Department of Homeland Security responded as reported by saying Harvard's answer was "insufficient," but it also did not detail the reasons or quote specific regulations. Harvard's lawsuit also cited President Trump's words on his social media site, Truth Social, as proof of a personal grudge against the university.

The White House responded through spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, who gave the following harsh repudiation: "If only Harvard was this interested in putting an end to the scourge of anti-American, antisemitic, pro-terrorist agitators on their campus they wouldn't be in this position to start with. Harvard should be spending their time and energy on building a safe campus environment rather than suing in frivolous lawsuits."

Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticized the lawsuit as well, saying the lawsuit "seeks to kneecap the president's constitutionally vested powers," and further added, "The Trump administration is committed to restoring common sense to our student visa system; no lawsuit, this or any other, is going to change that. We have the law, the facts, and common sense on our side."

Broader Context
The administration justifies these actions as part of a broader attempt to fight antisemitism and to counter what it sees as left-wing ideologies dominating elite universities. When Donald Trump campaigned for president, he spoke of Ivy League colleges such as Harvard as being run by "Marxist maniacs."