Harvard's foreign students face a temporary hold on their enrollment, as a judge halts Trump's immigration decree.
A federal judge prevented the Trump administration from enforcing its decision to revoke Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification on Friday, following a lawsuit filed by the prestigious institution. The revocation, announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday, had threatened to disrupt the education of thousands of students and the university's substantial income from international enrollment.
In the lawsuit, Harvard argued that the move was unconstitutional and a form of retaliation, citing the government's demands for control over the university's admission policies and faculty ideology. President Donald Trump has previously expressed dissatisfaction with Harvard's rejection of government oversight and allegations of anti-Semitism and "woke" liberal ideology. In response, the administration has threatened to review $9 billion in government funding, frozen a $2.2 billion grant, and targeted a Harvard Medical School researcher for deportation.
The temporary pause on the revocation was granted by U.S. district judge Allison Burroughs, who said the government was "enjoined from implementing... the revocation of Plaintiff's SEVP certification." The court will revisit the issue in a hearing scheduled for May 29. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller characterized the judge's decision as creating a constitutional right for foreign nationals to attend American universities funded by tax dollars.
Harvard President Alan Garber condemned the move as "unlawful and unwarranted," stating that it imperiled the futures of thousands of students and scholars and served as a warning to institutions across the country. Chinese students make up over a fifth of Harvard's international enrollment, with Beijing expressing concern that the decision will harm the United States' image and standing. The Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, opposed the politicization of educational cooperation.
Harvard has already filed a separate lawsuit against the U.S. government over different punitive measures. A student from Austria, Karl Molden, feared such measures and had applied to transfer to Oxford University in Britain. Leaders of the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors described the action as "nakedly authoritarian and retaliatory."
In the realm of politics and policy-and-legislation, the ongoing dispute between Harvard University and the Trump administration revolves around education-and-self-development and general-news issues, with Harvard advocating against perceived government intervention in its admission policies and faculty ideology. This controversy has sparked a learning opportunity, shedding light on the implications of such disputes for universities across the nation.
