A federal judge in Boston on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction to block the Trump administration’s directive to strip Harvard University of its ability to admit international students.
Judge Allison Burroughs issued the ruling from the bench after an emergency hearing on the administration's move, which upended the lives of the 27 percent of Harvard’s student body that is made up of foreign students.
Harvard quickly sued the administration last week after the directive was given by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which also ordered current international students at Harvard to transfer to other schools or risk losing their visas.
“This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus,” DHS head Kristi Noem said. “It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments.
In a court filing on Wednesday, Maureen Martin, the university’s director of immigration services, detailed a long list of consequences the directive had on Harvard in the week since it was announced.
Some international students are looking to transfer, others are declining offers to Harvard, those with Harvard visas are getting extra screening at airports and other countries are looking to recruit students away from Harvard due to the announcement.
Before the hearing, the Trump administration said it would give Harvard 30 days to hand over certain information before implementing its directive, but the judge still chose to put her injunction in place.
Updated at 11:55 a.m. EDT
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