Federal judge blocks Trump administration from barring foreign student enrollment at Harvard

A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from cutting off Harvard's enrollment of foreign students, an action the Ivy League school decried as unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands.

In its lawsuit filed earlier Friday in federal court in Boston, Harvard said the government’s action violates the First Amendment and will have an “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 temporary restraining order was granted by U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs.

The Trump administration move has thrown the campus into disarray days before graduation, Harvard said in the suit. International students who run labs, teach courses, assist professors and participate in Harvard sports are now left deciding whether to transfer or risk losing legal status to stay in the country, according to the filing.

The impact is heaviest at graduate schools such as the Harvard Kennedy School, where almost half the student body comes from abroad, and Harvard Business School, which is about one-third international.

Legal and higher education advocates weren't surprised by the court's swift decision in favor of Harvard. Among them is Nick Akerman, a former Watergate prosecutor. He said Trump is looking to exploit the powers of the White House to punish political enemies, much as Richard Nixon did.

"I think it's absolutely outrageous, totally illegal, unconstitutional and is only being done because Donald Trump wants to seek retribution against Harvard," Akerman said. He believes Harvard will prevail in court "easily."

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C., . said a win in court will be important not only to American universities, but also to thousands of international students who, as recently as Thursday morning "were wondering if they were going to have a place to go to school."

But even if Harvard does beat back Trump's challenge, both Akerman and Mitchell said the damage has been done. They believe this case will chill academic freedom across the country, because many schools lack Harvard's resources to fight back against this unusual punitive action by a U.S. president.

"It makes little sense for the Trump administration to be cutting off what Harvard provides to the U.S. and rest of the world," Mitchell said.

Harvard enrolls almost 6,800 foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Most are graduate students and they come from more than 100 countries.

Harvard's campus was quiet Friday. With graduation just days away, many students had already left for summer break. The ones who lingered picked up their gowns, headed to the gym or grabbed a bite at the dining hall. Crews of workers set up chairs and tents for graduation.

Only the helicopters circling overhead and the cameras set up at the gates made it clear that the day was somehow different.

When asked about the Trump administration's move to block international students from attending Harvard, many preferred not to share their thoughts, but those who did expressed disbelief and concern.

Jorge Mata Otero is a masters student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Originally from Mexico, he started studying in the U.S. on a student visa before becoming a naturalized citizen.

Half of the students in his program are international students, many of whom are his close friends, he said. And the anxiety and frustration is palpable.

“They were really concerned,” he said. “I know what it feels like to have that anxiety.”

Unsure of what to do, people messaged each other on group chats Thursday night to share information, he said. They're worried they would have to transfer, and unsure if it was even possible.

Mata Otero said that if he was still on a student visa he wouldn't be sitting in the common room of his residence talking to a reporter.

“I would try to keep a low profile,” he said. “I would be scared, to be honest, scared in my room. Not even going around campus.”

The Department of Homeland Security announced the action Thursday, accusing Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus. It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, contending the school had hosted and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024.

Harvard President Alan Garber earlier this month said the university has made changes to its governance over the past year and a half, including a broad strategy to combat antisemitism and "other bigotry." He said Harvard would not budge on its “its core, legally-protected principles” over fears of retaliation. Harvard has said it will respond at a later time to allegations first raised by House Republicans about coordination with the Chinese Communist Party.

The threat to Harvard’s international enrollment stems from an April 16 request from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who demanded that Harvard provide information about foreign students that might implicate them in violence or protests that could lead to their deportation.

Harvard says it provided “thousands of data points” in response to Noem’s demand. Her letter on Thursday said Harvard failed to satisfy her request, but the school said she failed to provide any further explanation.

“It makes generalized statements about campus environment and ‘anti-Americanism,’ again without articulating any rational link between those statements and the decision to retaliate against international students,” the suit said.

Harvard's lawsuit said the administration violated the government's own regulations for withdrawing a school's certification.

Along with its impact on current students, the administration's move blocks thousands of students who were planning to attend Harvard for summer and fall classes.

Harvard said this puts it at a disadvantage as it competes for the world's top students. Even if it regains the ability to host students, “future applicants may shy away from applying out of fear of further reprisals from the government,” the suit said.

If the government's action stands, Harvard said, the university would be unable to offer admission to new international students for at least the next two academic years. Schools that have that certification withdrawn by the federal government are ineligible to reapply until one year afterward, Harvard said.

The government can and does remove colleges from the Student Exchange and Visitor Program, making them ineligible to host foreign students on their campus. However, it’s usually for administrative reasons outlined in law, such as failing to maintain accreditation, lacking proper facilities for classes, or failing to employ qualified professional personnel.

Noem said Harvard can regain its ability to host foreign students if it produces a trove of records on foreign students within 72 hours. Her updated request demands all records, including audio or video footage, of foreign students participating in protests or "dangerous" activity on campus.

The lawsuit is separate from the university’s earlier one challenging more than $2 billion in federal cuts imposed by the Republican administration.

With reporting from WBUR's Anthony Brooks and Emily Piper-Vallillo, and Associated Press writer Annie Ma.