BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday extended an order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to bar Harvard University from enrolling foreign students.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs extended the block she imposed last week with a temporary restraining order, which allows the Ivy League school to continue enrolling international students as a lawsuit proceeds.
Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security on Friday after Secretary Kristi Noem revoked its ability to host foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“Harvard will continue to take steps to protect the rights of our international students and scholars, members of our community who are vital to the University’s academic mission and community — and whose presence here benefits our country immeasurably,” a university spokesman said in a statement.
Dozens of alumni and some students packed the federal court overflow room Thursday, listening intently to hearing proceedings and reacting with cautious optimism at the judge’s move to shield the school and its students from Trump’s move until the case is fully heard.
“I think it was clear the judge is sympathetic to the concerns that international students are suffering harm and may suffer harm if the government attempts to kick them out,,” said Kevin Donahue, a Harvard alumnus who watched the hearing in-person out of curiosity and concern for his alma mater and its students. “Many of [them] come from other countries and have had their ability to continue their studies and their summer plans disrupted.”
“I’m hopeful that the rule of law can win out here,” Donahue told reporters.
Andrea, an international student from Colombia who declined to give her last name for fear of being targeted, told GBH News “it’s a very stressful time for international students.”
“We’ve seen the [Trump] administration get increasingly hostile since the beginning of the term,” she said, pointing to federal funding cuts at Harvard as well as international students across the country who have been detained or had their visas revoked.
“It’s definitely an escalation,” she added. “I think it’s not as surprising as some people have made it seem.”
On Wednesday, the Trump administration introduced a new effort to revoke Harvard’s certification to enroll foreign students. In a letter sent by the acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, Todd Lyons, the government gave Harvard 30 days to respond to the alleged grounds for withdrawal, which include accusations that Harvard coordinated with foreign entities and failed to respond sufficiently to antisemitism on campus.
Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security last Friday after Secretary Kristi Noem revoked its ability to host foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
As the judge sent the case into recess after brief proceedings Thursday, Burroughs asked lawyers for both sides to draft a mutually agreed upon preliminary injunction or propose separate orders for her to consider enforcing as the case moves forward.
A digital docket for the case shows no due dates for the requested drafts.
The dispute over international enrollment at Harvard is the latest escalation in a battle between the White House and the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college. In April, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent a letter to the school, demanding a range of records related to foreign students, including discipline records and anything related to “dangerous or violent activity.” Noem said it was in response to accusations of antisemitism on Harvard’s campus.
Harvard says it complied. But on May 22, Noem sent a letter saying the school’s response fell short. She said Harvard was being pulled from the federal program that allows colleges to sponsor international students to get U.S. visas. It took effect immediately and prevented Harvard from hosting foreign students in the upcoming school year.
In its lawsuit, Harvard argued that the government failed to follow administrative procedures and regulations that dictate how schools may be removed from eligibility to host international students, which including giving schools the opportunity to appeal and a 30-day window to respond. Wednesday’s notice is in line with those regulations.
Already, despite the restraining order, the Trump administration’s efforts to stop Harvard from enrolling international students have created an environment of “profound fear, concern, and confusion,” the university’s director of immigration services said in a court filing on Wednesday.
In a court filing, immigration services director Maureen Martin said that countless international students had asked about transferring, and that some domestic students had expressed interest in transferring or deferring because they believed their educational experience would not be the same without an international student body.
Martin said that international Harvard students arriving in Boston were sent to additional screening by Customs and Border Protection agents, and that international students seeking to obtain their visas were being denied or facing delays at consulates and embassies.
Trump railed against Harvard on social media after Burroughs temporarily halted the action last week, saying “the best thing Harvard has going for it is that they have shopped around and found the absolute best Judge (for them!) - But have no fear, the Government will, in the end, WIN!”
The Trump administration has levied a range of grievances against Harvard, accusing it of being a hotbed of liberalism and failing to protect Jewish students from harassment. The government is demanding changes to Harvard’s governance and policies to bring it in line with the president’s vision.
Harvard was the first university to reject the government’s demands, saying it threatened the autonomy that has long made U.S. higher education a magnet for the world’s top scholars. In a pair of lawsuits, Harvard accuses the government of retaliating against the university for rebuffing political demands.
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Ma reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report.
