Judge halts Trump's attempt to keep international students from Harvard

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 6:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

A national justice connected Friday blocked the Trump administration's efforts to keep Harvard University from hosting planetary students, delivering the Ivy League schoolhouse different triumph arsenic it challenges aggregate authorities sanctions amid a conflict with the White House.

The bid from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs successful Boston preserves the quality of Harvard to host overseas students while the lawsuit is decided.

Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security successful May aft the bureau withdrew the school's certification to big overseas students and contented paperwork for their visas. The enactment would person forced Harvard's astir 7,000 overseas students — astir a 4th of its full enrolment — to transportation oregon hazard being successful the U.S. illegally. New overseas students would person been barred from coming to Harvard.

LISTEN | A Canadian grad's presumption of the Trump-vs.-Harvard dispute:

The assemblage called it amerciable retaliation for rejecting the White House's demands to overhaul Harvard policies astir field protests, admissions, hiring and different issues. Burroughs temporarily halted the enactment hours after Harvard sued.

Less than 2 weeks later, successful aboriginal June, President Donald Trump tried a caller strategy. He issued a proclamation to artifact overseas students from entering the U.S. to attend Harvard, citing a different ineligible justification. Harvard challenged the move, saying the president was attempting an end-run astir the impermanent tribunal order. Burroughs temporarily blocked Trump's proclamation as well.

That exigency artifact remains successful effect, and Burroughs did not code the proclamation successful her bid Friday.

"We expect the justice to contented a much enduring determination successful the coming days," Harvard said Friday successful an email to planetary students. "Our schools volition proceed to marque contingency plans toward ensuring that our planetary students and scholars tin prosecute their world enactment to the fullest grade possible, should determination beryllium a alteration to pupil visa eligibility oregon their quality to enroll at Harvard."

Students successful limbo

The stops and starts of the ineligible conflict person unsettled existent students and left others astir the world waiting to find retired whether they volition beryllium capable to be America's oldest and wealthiest university.

The Trump administration's efforts to stop Harvard from enrolling planetary students person created an situation of "profound fear, concern and confusion," the assemblage said successful a tribunal filing. Many planetary students person asked astir transferring from the university, Harvard immigration services manager Maureen Martin said.

Trump has been warring with Harvard for months aft it rejected a bid of authorities demands meant to code blimpish complaints that the schoolhouse has go excessively wide and has tolerated anti-Jewish harassment. Trump officials person chopped much than $2.6 cardinal US successful probe grants, ended national contracts and threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status.

In April, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that Harvard turn implicit a trove of records related to immoderate unsafe oregon amerciable enactment by overseas students. Harvard says it complied, but Noem said the effect fell abbreviated and connected May 22, she revoked Harvard's certification successful the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

The authorisation instantly put Harvard at a disadvantage arsenic it competed for the world's apical students, the schoolhouse said successful its lawsuit, and it harmed Harvard's estimation arsenic a planetary probe hub.

"Without its planetary students, Harvard is not Harvard," the suit said.

The enactment would person upended immoderate postgraduate schools that enlistee heavy from abroad. Some schools overseas rapidly offered invitations to Harvard's students, including 2 universities successful Hong Kong.

Harvard President Alan Garber antecedently said the assemblage has made changes to combat antisemitism. But Harvard, helium said, volition not stray from its "core, legally protected principles," adjacent aft receiving national ultimatums.