A federal judge stopped Trump’s move to block Harvard from enrolling international students. The court called it a violation of law and academic freedom.
A judge in the United States has stopped a major decision taken by the Trump administration. The decision would have taken away Harvard University’s right to accept students from other countries.
This legal case took place in Boston and shows how former President Donald Trump tried to force American colleges and other institutions to follow his political ideas.
Harvard University, one of the oldest and most famous colleges in the world, quickly went to court on Friday.
In its complaint filed in a federal court in Boston, Harvard said that the government’s action was a “blatant violation” of the US Constitution and other federal laws.
The university also explained that this move would have an “immediate and devastating effect” on both the institution and more than 7,000 students who hold study visas.
Harvard’s lawyers wrote in the court papers,
“With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission.”
They further added,
“Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”
US District Judge Allison Burroughs, who was chosen for her post by former Democratic President Barack Obama, issued a temporary restraining order.
This means the government’s decision to stop Harvard from accepting international students will not be applied for now.
This case is part of a larger pattern where Trump and his team tried to bring institutions like universities, courts, and even media houses under their control.
They wanted these independent bodies to match Trump’s political views.
Trump’s administration had already taken steps like trying to deport foreign students who joined pro-Palestinian protests, even when those students didn’t break any laws.
The administration also went after law firms that employed lawyers who had opposed Trump in legal matters.
Trump even talked about removing a judge just because he gave an immigration ruling that Trump didn’t like.
Harvard has been strong in its opposition to Trump’s policies. In the past, the university even filed a lawsuit to get back $3 billion in federal funding that had been cut off.
Other major law firms such as WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey have also gone to court against such actions.
In one major remark, US Chief Justice John Roberts said that removing judges just because one disagrees with their decisions is not right, saying,
“impeaching judges is not an appropriate response to disagreement with their rulings.”
However, some institutions did give in to Trump’s pressure. Columbia University, another top college, agreed to make changes to how it handles student discipline and to check the contents of its courses about the Middle East.
This came after the Trump administration took away $400 million from Columbia, accusing it of not doing enough to fight antisemitism.
Some big law firms like Paul, Weiss and Skadden Arps also agreed to give free legal help to causes that Trump supported.
Before the judge gave her ruling, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded strongly to the case filed by Harvard.
She said,
“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 added, “Harvard should spend their time and resources on creating a safe campus environment instead of filing frivolous lawsuits.”
The decision to take away Harvard’s right to admit foreign students officially came from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
She announced that this cancellation would begin from the academic year 2025-2026. Noem claimed this decision was necessary because Harvard was
“fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party.”
In a letter sent to Harvard, which was also attached to the legal complaint, Noem explained that Harvard had
“created a hostile learning environment for Jewish students due to Harvard’s failure to condemn antisemitism.”
She further demanded that Harvard provide video and audio evidence of international students involved in protest activities over the past five years.
She gave the university only 72 hours to submit these records if it wanted to keep its student program certification.
Harvard pushed back strongly against these claims. In its court papers, the university described the government’s reason as “the quintessence of arbitrariness.”
In a letter written to Harvard’s students and faculty on Friday, Harvard President Garber firmly criticized the government’s actions. He said that Harvard had already given the required information to the Homeland Security Department as per the law.
Garber stated,
“The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government’s illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body.”
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.
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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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