A federal judge in Boston will continue blocking Donald Trump’s administration from revoking Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, dealing another blow to the government’s pressure campaign against the nation’s oldest school.
Just six miles from where Harvard’s commencement ceremonies are underway, Massachusetts District Judge Allison Burroughs told attorneys for the administration and Ivy League institution that she intends to issue a “broad” injunction that blocks officials from trying to stop Harvard from keeping foreign students on campus.
Thursday’s hearing follows Trump’s announcement last week that the administration rescinded Harvard’s permissions to enroll international students and forced currently enrolled foreign students to leave the university or risk losing their legal status in the country.
Harvard immediately filed a lawsuit accusing the administration of violating the First Amendment with “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.”
“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,” Harvard said in its suit. “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”
The Trump administration is waging a “campaign of retribution” against the university, according to the lawsuit.
“We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action,” Dr. Alan M. Garber, Harvard’s president, wrote in a letter addressing students and staff last week.
The Trump administration “imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams,” he added.
On Thursday, Burroughs said she plans to order the Department of Homeland Security and State Department to not make any changes to Harvard’s student visa program as she considers a preliminary injunction. A restraining order will remain in place.
“I want to maintain the status quo,” she said.
Lawyers for Harvard and the Justice Department have been ordered to reach an agreement that continues to allow the university to accept student visa holders.
“It doesn’t need to be draconian, but I want to make sure it’s worded in such a way that nothing changes,” Burroughs said.
This is a developing story
