Harvard sues the Trump administration over ban on enrolling international college students

Harvard University is difficult the Trump administration’s determination. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Harvard University is difficult the Trump administration’s determination to bar the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students, calling it unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political calls for.

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In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court docket in Boston, Harvard mentioned the federal government’s motion violates the First Amendment and could 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 mentioned in its go well with.

The faculty mentioned it plans to file for a brief restraining order to dam the Department of Homeland Security from finishing up the transfer.

Harvard enrolls nearly 6,800 international college students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Most are graduate college students they usually come from greater than 100 nations.

The division introduced the motion Thursday, accusing Harvard of making an unsafe campus surroundings by permitting “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish college students on campus. It additionally accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, contending the varsity had hosted and skilled members of a Chinese paramilitary group as lately as 2024.

Harvard President Alan Garber earlier this month mentioned the college has made modifications to its governance over the previous 12 months and a half, together with a broad technique to fight antisemitism. He mentioned Harvard wouldn’t budge on its “its core, legally-protected principles” over fears of retaliation. Harvard has mentioned it’s going to reply at a later time to allegations first raised by House Republicans about coordination with the Chinese Communist Party.

The menace to Harvard’s worldwide enrollment stems from an April 16 request from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who demanded that Harvard present details about international college students which may implicate them in violence or protests that would result in their deportation.

Noem mentioned Harvard can regain its skill to host international college students if it produces a trove of information on international college students inside 72 hours. Her up to date request calls for all information, together with audio or video footage, of international college students collaborating in protests or harmful exercise on campus.

The go well with is separate from the college’s earlier one difficult greater than $2 billion in federal cuts imposed by the Republican administration.