US judge temporarily blocks Trump ban on foreign students at Harvard

A US district judge has issued a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration, halting the enforcement of a ban preventing Harvard University from admitting international students.

President Trump had signed a proclamation on Wednesday, blocking the institution from enrolling foreign students, which makes up a quarter of its student body, and contributes significantly to its research and academic output.

This is the latest attack by the administration against the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university. However, it responded swiftly by filing a lawsuit.

Judge Allison Burroughs, based in Massachusetts, issued the restraining order on Thursday, on the grounds that the university would face immediate and irreparable injury should the proclamation be implemented.

According to the university, the policy was a vendetta waged by President Donald Trump aimed at stifling free speech.

Mr Trump argued that the ban is necessary on national security grounds, and accused Harvard of not doing enough to stop antisemitism on campus.

If Mr Trump’s order were implemented, it would affect thousands of foreign students, including Nigerians who are scheduled to resume at Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the summer and fall term.

“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,” Harvard said.

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DHS previous order

The US district judge has blocked implementation of the order and also extended the temporary hold placed on the administration’s earlier attempt to halt Harvard’s enrollment of international students.

In May, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it was revoking Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification.

This was the programme that allowed the school to enroll foreign students. The DHS attributed this to the University’s refusal to comply with its requests for the behavioural records of student visa holders.

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The Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Neom, had accused the school of fostering an unsafe campus environment, hostility to Jewish students, support for Hamas, and what she described as racist DEI initiatives.

“Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country. This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” she said.

“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enrol foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had plenty of opportunities to do the right thing. It refused.

However, the order was quickly blocked by a judge and upheld last week by another federal judge.