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Harvard’s foreign student enrolment ban halted by US federal judge; what happens next?
US Government says Harvard failed to address “criminality and misconduct of foreign students” and created a campus “hostile to Jewish students.”
A federal judge on Friday granted a temporary reprieve to Harvard University in its legal battle with the Trump administration, which had moved to bar the institution from enrolling foreign students.
The decision, hailed as a short-term victory for the Ivy League school, comes amid mounting tensions over the government’s demand that Harvard provide extensive data on international students and campus conduct.
The Department of Homeland Security’s directive to revoke Harvard’s certification to enrol foreign students threatens the visa status of the university’s 6,800 international students, a move Harvard warns would have an “immediate and devastating effect.”
Harvard’s president, Alan Garber, described the government’s action as one that “imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars.”
The court, presided over by Judge Allison Burroughs, will hold hearings in the coming days to consider extending the halt on the government’s ban.
Legal arguments and next steps
The government accused Harvard of failing to address “criminality and misconduct of foreign students” and creating a campus environment “hostile to Jewish students” and promoting “pro-Hamas sympathies.”
Harvard’s lawsuit argues Department of Homeland Security denied the university a meaningful chance to respond and violated its constitutional rights, causing “immediate chaos” as the spring term ended.
Harvard’s legal challenge focuses on two main issues: alleged First Amendment violations and procedural failures in revoking enrolment certification.
Lawyers contend the government is retaliating against Harvard for not following its demands and engaging in impermissible “viewpoint discrimination.”
Judge Burroughs, appointed in 2014, will outline her schedule at a status conference in Boston federal court. She will soon hear arguments on extending the halt on government action. The timing of a final ruling remains uncertain, leaving uncertainty for international students expected to arrive for the next academic year.
If the ban takes effect, thousands of Harvard’s international students will have to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status in the US. Harvard would not be able to sponsor visas for admitted students for the upcoming terms.
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has already invited Harvard students and admitted them to transfer.
With Bloomberg inputs
