A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from stripping Harvard University of its authority to enroll international students, siding with the Ivy League school in an intensifying legal dispute over academic governance, foreign influence and national security.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, speaking from a Boston courtroom Thursday, ordered the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to preserve the current student visa program while the legal process plays out.
She told both sides to negotiate a compromise that prevents any immediate enforcement action.
“I want to maintain the status quo,” Judge Burroughs said, emphasizing that she expects no sudden moves while attorneys for Harvard and the Justice Department hash out next steps.
The controversy began when Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced last Thursday that Harvard’s SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) certification was being revoked.
The decision would block new international students from enrolling and force thousands of current foreign students to transfer or risk deportation.
Noem accused the university of fostering antisemitism, shielding students involved in violent or illegal behavior and maintaining undisclosed ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
She cited Harvard’s failure to cooperate with multiple information requests, warning the school that “enrolling foreign nationals is a privilege, not a right.”
Harvard immediately pushed back, launching a legal challenge and calling the revocation “devastating.”
The university claimed the move was politically motivated and violated its constitutional rights, including free speech and due process.
The school further argued that DHS regulations require at least 30 days’ notice and the opportunity to appeal before any revocation can take effect.
That 30-day window was only offered after the court was engaged.
DOJ attorneys attempted to argue that the case had been effectively neutralized by this delay, but Judge Burroughs rejected the claim and reaffirmed her directive to freeze any changes.
Roughly 27 percent of Harvard’s student body—about 6,800 students—are international. Losing SEVP certification would dismantle the school’s global enrollment structure and potentially destabilize its academic operations, according to the Daily Mail.
The legal clash is part of a broader conflict between President Donald Trump’s administration and elite universities that the White House sees as resistant to transparency and out of step with American values.
Trump weighed in this week, telling reporters in the Oval Office that Harvard should limit its foreign student enrollment to 15 percent.
“Harvard has got to behave themselves,” he said, criticizing the institution’s unwillingness to cooperate with federal authorities.
The university, meanwhile, is also fighting a separate federal effort to cancel nearly $3 billion in research funding, claiming that the administration is retaliating for its refusal to allow government influence over its faculty and curriculum.
Judge Burroughs, an Obama appointee, will preside over the ongoing case, which is expected to test the limits of academic freedom and foreign influence on American soil, per the outlet.
Even as the legal showdown played out, Harvard held its commencement ceremony Thursday.
Several speakers took indirect aim at the Trump administration, praising diversity and the opportunities America offers to immigrants.
Dr. Abraham Verghese, a keynote speaker and author, remarked, “The greatness of America, the greatness of Harvard, is reflected in the fact that someone like me could be invited to speak to you.”
While the administration stands firm on tightening oversight of foreign actors in higher education, the court’s ruling ensures Harvard’s visa program remains untouched, for the time being.
