Harvard Scores Huge Win in Escalating War With Trump
A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to strip Harvard University of the ability to enroll international students.
U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs agreed to extend a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump administration from enforcing its action, after the government gave the school a 30-day deadline to challenge its revocation of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification.
Burroughs said she intended to issue a preliminary injunction, which would prevent the Trump administration from moving forward without the proper legal procedures. “I do think an order is necessary. It doesn’t need to be draconian, but I want to make sure nothing changes. I want to maintain the status quo,” Burroughs said at the hearing Thursday.
News of the order sparked a wave of relief at Harvard’s commencement, as students learned that the government’s crackdown on their peers could not be enforced—for now.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced last week that the government would revoke Harvard’s SEVP certification because the school had supposedly failed to comply with the administration’s requests for information. Noem alleged that Harvard had collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party and failed to address antisemitism on campus.
If Harvard lost its SEVP certification, not only would the university not be allowed to accept foreign students for the 2025–2026 academic year, but those who were already enrolled would have to transfer or lose legal status, as well. International students currently make up about a quarter of Harvard’s student body.
In a brief filing last week, Burroughs granted Harvard’s request for a temporary restraining order, after the university immediately sued the government for what the school called an “unlawful and unwarranted action.”
The Trump administration responded Wednesday night, requesting that Harvard provide evidence “to rebut the grounds for withdrawal of certification” and even more information about its international students, as well as assurances to provide “a campus environment free from violence and antisemitism.”
In a post on X Thursday, Noem claimed that the school had demonstrated a pattern of “endangering its students and spreading American hate.”
The administration’s crackdown on Harvard comes amid a broader crusade to shutter pro-Palestinian speech on campuses, following the arrests of several international students for a range of noncriminal activity, including advocating for institutional divestment from Israel in an op-ed and having family ties to a former adviser for Hamas—a blatant violation of their First Amendment rights.
This latest development also comes hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would begin “aggressively” revoking the visas of Chinese students. The administration has also temporarily halted all student visa interviews.
This story has been updated.