Harvard University sued the Trump administration on Friday, one day after the Department of Homeland Security said it would block the 388-year-old college from enrolling international students.
In its filing in Boston federal court, the Ivy League school said the decision was unconstitutional and would have an “immediate and devastating effect” on “more than 7,000 visa holders.” A few hours later, judge Allison D. Burroughs sided with the university, granting a temporary restraining order against the government’s order.
Harvard’s enrollment data for the 2024-25 academic year showed 6,793 international students attended the institution, making up 27.2% of its total enrollment. The number of foreign-born students who attend Harvard has increased 72% since the 2006-07 school year.
“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 lawsuit, per the Associated Press. “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”
On Thursday, the DHS ordered Harvard to cancel its foreign student program for the upcoming school year. Homeland Security said current international students “must transfer” from the university or lose their legal status; the department said the decision was made after the university has permitted “anti-American” agitators to highjack the school and make students and, in particular, Jewish attendees feel unsafe on campus.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem added that Harvard has allegedly coordinated with the Chinese communist party to bring in more foreign students. Reuters reported on Thursday that Chinese nationals accounted for the biggest slice of international students at Harvard, with 1,016 attendees in 2022.
“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments,” Noem said in a statement. “Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law.”