Last month, the Department of Homeland Security cancelled Harvard University’s authorisation to enrol international students, and even the existing students could lose their legal immigration status if they didn’t transfer to another institution.
US federal court on Friday blocked former President Donald Trump’s ban on students attending Harvard University from outside the United States.
The decision came just hours after Harvard filed a strong legal challenge against the move, calling it “illegal retaliation” for not following the White House’s demands.
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In May, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under the direction of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L Noem, revoked Harvard University’s certification to admit international students. This action meant that Harvard could no longer enroll new international students, and even the existing students could lose their legal immigration status if they didn’t transfer to another institution.
This drastic move was part of a wider crackdown on university campuses amid protests related to the war in Gaza, but Harvard saw it as something more personal — an act of political retaliation.
Harvard University quickly approached the federal court, arguing that the Trump administration had overstepped its legal boundaries. The university challenged the White House’s use of a federal law that allows the President to ban a ‘class of aliens’ if they are considered a threat to the country.
However, Harvard strongly rejected this argument and pointed out that the government was not banning a clear class of people, but only targeting students who were coming to study at Harvard. The university wrote in its legal filing:
“The President’s actions thus are not undertaken to protect the interests of the United States, but instead to pursue a government vendetta against Harvard.”
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Harvard further added that the government’s move had unfairly made their students victims of politics:
“Harvard’s more than 7,000 F-1 and J-1 visa holders — and their dependents — have become pawns in the government’s escalating campaign of retaliation,” the Ivy League school wrote in its court documents.
The federal court sided with Harvard, saying that the administration’s ban could not be allowed to stand. The court blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to ban international students from attending Harvard, calling it improper and not aligned with existing laws.
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This is not the first legal win for Harvard in this matter. Last month, a US court judge had also blocked DHS from revoking Harvard’s ability to host international students, and this time, Harvard accused the government of trying to go around that earlier court ruling.
The university described the Trump administration’s latest move as:
“an end-run around a previous court order.”
At present, Harvard has nearly 6,800 international students, which is about 27% of its total number of students.
Harvard further said that this decision would mean it would have to cancel the admissions of thousands of students.
It also stated that many of its academic programs, courses, research labs, and clinics are now in serious trouble, just a few days before graduation.
In its final statement to the court, Harvard described the government’s move as “unlawful many times over,” claiming that it violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
The university argued that the government is using threats and pressure to control freedom of speech and is trying to take away the independence that colleges have over what they teach and whom they admit.
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