International students account for one-quarter of the Harvard student population.
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Harvard University successfully sued the Trump administration to stop the move and could host international students in less than a day. The judge approved the temporary restraining order on Friday evening.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday afternoon that the Trump administration deprived Harvard of student and exchange visitor program certification in a letter that vaguely accused Harvard of “failure to comply with the law.”
However, the letter does not list any specific violations of the law by Harvard.
On Friday morning, Harvard threw a legal fight back, filed a lawsuit challenging the lawsuit to revoke SEVP certification and seeking temporary restraining orders to stop action, which could cause Harvard to suddenly lose more than 6,000 students if it fails to enroll. (International enrollment usually accounts for one-quarter of Harvard’s number.) In addition to blocking new enrollment, the withdrawal also requires current transfers of international students.
Harvard President Alan Garber has slammed the SEVP as “illegal and unnecessary” and said it was a punitive effort by the Trump administration to respond to allegations of Harvard’s refusal to reform governance, enrollment, hiring procedures and allegations of anti-Semitism and harassment in the last year, accusation of Pro-Palestinian protests. (Harvard filed another lawsuit last month that delayed the demands, prompting the Trump administration to retaliate by freezing $2.7 billion in grants and contracts, or about one-third of its federal research funding.)
“This has jeopardized the future of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and warned others in universities and universities across the country to come to the United States to pursue education and realize their dreams,” Garber wrote in a message to campus.
He added: “We will do everything we can to support our students and scholars.”
The Harvard lawsuit responded to Garber’s view in a sharper tone, accusing the federal government of blatant violations of the First Amendment and Harvard’s due process rights.
“With the pen stroke, the government has made a huge contribution to the university and its mission,” the attorney representing Harvard University argued in a legal application Friday morning.
The Harvard University lawsuit calls DHS, NOEM and other officials within the department accused, as well as the U.S. department of justice, state and acting leaders.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin fires at Harvard in response Internal Advanced ED.
“This lawsuit seeks to succumb to the president’s constitutional attribution power under Article 2. The university is a privilege, not a right,” she wrote.
Another legal setback
The judge quickly agreed to Harvard’s argument and signed a temporary restraining order to prevent the revocation of the university’s SEVP certification within hours of filing the lawsuit.
In a brief comment, a Massachusetts District Court judge wrote that in response to Harvard’s legal documents, the temporary restraining order “has reason to retain the status quo.” The judge at least temporarily prevented DHS from divesting SEVP certification and awarded a hearing.
The date of the hearing is not specified in the court documents.
The temporary restraining order is one of several legal setbacks the Trump administration has faced recently as it attempts to use student visas for smaller violations (and constitutionally protected speech), reimbursement rates for CAP federal research funding, and cuts to staff cuts by the Department of Education and other institutions. Many of these efforts face ongoing challenges.
For example, a federal judge banned the Trump administration from firing thousands of Education Department employees on Thursday as part of a drastic reduction in force.
The federal government has appealed the decision.
“Do it everywhere”
The Trump administration’s latest move against Harvard has prompted widespread condemnation by scholars and free speech groups, who believe the federal government has not followed legal procedures that deprive SEVP certification and ignores the university’s due process rights.
“The government has clearly targeted Harvard in recent months. In doing so, it violates not only Harvard’s First Amendment rights, but also the rights of students and faculty at universities,” the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expressions wrote in a social media post Friday. “We praise Harvard for representing itself. Freedom of speech and academic freedom are crucial to higher education. They are values worth fighting for.”
Despite widespread concerns among scholars and lawyers that the divestiture of Harvard’s SEVP certification is not legal, several Republican officials endorsed Noem’s action.
Rep. Randy Fey, a Republican who represents Florida and the House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee, cheered for the move in a match held at Fox Business on Friday. Fine, a two-time Harvard graduate, said the Trump administration should be “everywhere” amid concerns about anti-Semitic behavior and harassment on college campuses.
Fine also dim the views of international students exercising First Amendment rights.
“We shouldn’t bring people into the United States to get education that hates us. They should come here for education and frankly, they should shut up. When I’m there, I don’t go into someone else’s house and complain,” Fine said.
