Judge deals severe blow to Trump’s prohibition of foreign students at Harvard

U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs announced on Thursday that she will instruct the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department not to modify Harvard’s student visa program.

CNN reported Burrough’s decision from a Boston courtroom as the details were still being hashed out in court.

‘I want to maintain the status quo,’ the judge said. 

She told Harvard and Justice Department attorneys to work out an agreement that would stop the revocation of foreign student visas. 

‘It doesn’t need to be draconian, but I want to make sure it’s worded in such a way that nothing changes,’ Burroughs said.  

In an attempt to avoid an unfavorable ruling, the Trump administration had initially planned to block Harvard’s capability to admit international students, but later decided to retract this decision before the mid-morning hearing.

Instead Harvard was given 30 days to challenge the ban. 

Lawyers for the Justice Department argued to Burroughs that the case might be moot because of the Trump administration’s latest procedural move. 

President Donald Trump’s administration appears to be backing down in its legal fight against Harvard University

Harvard University will have 30 days to challenge the Trump administration’s foreign students ban 

Harvard has refuted allegations from the Trump administration, including claims of bias against conservatives, the promotion of antisemitism on its campus, and collusion with the Chinese Communist Party.

The university has said losing that right would affect about one quarter of its student body and devastate the school.

Harvard had argued that the revocation violated its free speech and due process rights under the U.S. Constitution as well as the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs agency actions.

Its lawyers said DHS regulations required providing at least 30 days to challenge the agency’s allegations, and give Harvard an opportunity to pursue an administrative appeal.

That 30 day window was offered ahead of Thursday’s court date.  

The revocation announced on May 22 was an escalation of the Trump administration’s attacks on Harvard.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university’s lawyers have argued the agency’s action was part of an ‘unprecedented and retaliatory attack on academic freedom at Harvard,’ which is pursuing a separate lawsuit challenging the administration’s decision to terminate nearly $3 billion in federal research funding.

Harvard argues the Trump administration is retaliating against it for refusing to cede to its demands to control the school’s governance, curriculum and the ‘ideology’ of its faculty and students.

An attendee at Harvard University’s commencement on Thursday wears a sticker that reads ‘without our international students, Harvard is not Harvard’ 

The case before Burroughs, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, was filed after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revoked the school’s SEVP certification.

In announcing the decision, Noem, without providing evidence, accused the university of ‘fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party.’

In a letter that day, she accused the school of refusing to comply with wide-ranging requests for information on its student visa holders, including about any activity they engaged in that was illegal or violent or that would subject them to discipline.

‘As I explained to you in my April letter, it is a privilege to enroll foreign students, and it is also a privilege to employ aliens on campus,’ she said.

Harvard said the decision was ‘devastating’ for the school and its student body. 

The university, the nation’s oldest and wealthiest, enrolled nearly 6,800 international students in its current school year, about 27 percent of its total enrollment.

The department’s move would prevent Harvard from enrolling new international students and require existing ones to transfer to other schools or lose their legal status.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that Harvard University should have a 15 percent cap on the number of non-U.S. students it admits. 

‘Harvard has got to behave themselves,’ he said. 

Harvard University’s commencement ceremonies were happening Thursday amid the court battle. 

A number of speakers brought up the administration’s war on the university during their speeches. 

‘Part of what makes America great, if I may use that phrase, is that it allows an immigrant like me to blossom,’ said commencement speaker, Dr. Abraham Verghese, a best-selling author and Stanford expert on infectious diseases. ‘The greatness of America, the greatness of Harvard, is reflected in the fact that someone like me could be invited to speak to you.’