Trump bid to ban foreign Harvard students temporarily blocked by judge
Mr Trump's proclamation, issued on Wednesday, was the latest attempt by his administration to prevent the nation's oldest and wealthiest college from enrolling a quarter of its students, who account for much of Harvard's research and scholarship.
Advertisement
Harvard filed a legal challenge the next day, asking for a judge to block Mr Trump's order and calling it illegal retaliation for Harvard's rejection of White House demands. Harvard said the president was attempting an end-run around a previous court order.
A few hours later, US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston issued a temporary restraining order against Mr Trump's Wednesday proclamation.
Harvard, she said, had demonstrated it would sustain 'immediate and irreparable injury' before she would have an opportunity to hear from the parties in the lawsuit.
Ms Burroughs also extended the temporary hold she placed on the administration's previous attempt to end Harvard's enrolment of international students.
Advertisement
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard's certification to host foreign students and issue paperwork to them for their visas, only to have Ms Burroughs block the action temporarily. Mr Trump's order this week invoked a different legal authority.
If Mr Trump's measure were to survive this court challenge, it would block thousands of students who are scheduled to come to Harvard's campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the summer and autumn terms.
'Harvard's more than 7,000 F-1 and J-1 visa holders — and their dependents — have become pawns in the government's escalating campaign of retaliation,' Harvard wrote in a court filing on Thursday.
While the court case proceeds, Harvard is making contingency plans so students and visiting scholars can continue their work at the university, president Alan Garber said in a message to the campus and alumni.
Advertisement
'Each of us is part of a truly global university community,' Mr Garber said on Thursday. 'We know that the benefits of bringing talented people together from around the world are unique and irreplaceable.'
Harvard has attracted a growing number of the brightest minds from around the world, with international enrolment growing from 11% of the student body three decades ago to 26% today.
Rising international enrolment has made Harvard and other elite colleges uniquely vulnerable to Mr Trump's crackdown on foreign students.
Republicans have been seeking to force overhauls of the nation's top colleges, which they see as hotbeds of 'woke' and antisemitic viewpoints.
Advertisement
Mr Garber says the university has made changes to combat antisemitism. But Harvard, he said, will not stray from its 'core, legally-protected principles', even after receiving federal ultimatums.
Mr Trump's administration has also taken steps to withhold federal funding from Harvard and other elite colleges that have rejected White House demands related to campus protests, admissions, hiring and more.
Harvard's 53 billion dollar (£39 billion) endowment allows it to weather the loss of funding for a time, although Mr Garber has warned of 'difficult decisions and sacrifices' to come.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Donald Trump's 'terrible' pet name for wife Melania revealed as he admits to using it every night
President Donald Trump revealed his nickname for wife Melania and then went on to admit it was 'terrible.' During his speech in Iowa on Thursday night, the president slipped up, calling his wife of 25 years by her pet name. 'I remember saying to our great first lady…' he began, before adding: 'I call her 'First Lady,' isn't it terrible?' 'I say, 'Good night, First Lady, my darling,' because it reminds me that I'm president,' he noted. Melania must have been on his mind as he had seen her shortly before leaving for his rally. The couple had met freed American hostage Edan Alexander in the Oval Office, where the president revealed his wife's concern about the captives in the Gaza war. 'The first lady, it was very important to her,' Trump told Alexander and his family. Melania Trump is spending a rare few days at the White House to celebrate the Fourth of July. She'll join President Trump on the South Lawn to watch the fireworks and to host a picnic for military members. On Thursday, the first lady visited Children's National Hospital in Washington D.C., where she made patriotic decorations with kids and decorated the Children's Health Garden for the holiday. She even invited the group to come to the White House for the 250th Independence Day celebration next year on July 4, 2026 and told them about the upcoming celebration including the fireworks show and F14 flyovers. The first lady joked about her husband's love of golf when kids asked if she shared President Donald Trump 's love of the sport. 'No, I don't play golf,' she laughed, but disclosed that she used to play. Nine former and current patients of the hospital in Washington, D.C. sat with Trump for an art session, decorating rocks to put in the Children's Health Garden and coloring on note pads branded with the first lady's signature 'Be Best' initiative. The first lady brought the kids goodie bags with blankets, children's books and teddy bears with 'Best Best' t-shirts. The kids went outside after their crafts session with Trump to use their art to decorate the Healing Garden at the hospital. And Melania Trump showed them a new flower - the 'External Flame' hybrid tea rose, which is a highly fragrant yellow rose - the White House donated to the garden. Following her visit to the healing garden, Trump made private visits with heart and kidney transplant patients. The first lady has made children's wellbeing a priority through her Be Best program. Trump visited the hospital every year around Christmas during her first tenure as first lady. It is a longtime tradition for the spouse of a president to visit the children's care center around the holidays. Melania Trump spends most of her time in New York, where their son Barron is a student at New York University. Before returning to the White House for her second tenure as first lady, she said she would be in Washington D.C. on an as needed basis. 'I will be in the White House. When I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach,' she told Fox News. 'My first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife.' After the fireworks on Friday, the Trumps will head to Bedminster, N.J., where they have a home on Trump's golf course there.
Reuters
35 minutes ago
- Reuters
Swiss authorities launch proceedings to shut branch of U.S.-backed Gaza aid group
GENEVA, July 2 (Reuters) - A U.S.- and Israel-backed group handing out food in Gaza under an aid system denounced by the United Nations said on Wednesday it was planning to shut its branch in Geneva, after Swiss authorities launched proceedings to dissolve it. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to receive aid since the GHF began handing out food packages in Gaza at the end of May, under a system which Israel says is intended to prevent aid from being diverted to militants but the U.N. calls a dangerous violation of humanitarian neutrality principles. The Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) said in a notice published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on Wednesday that it could order the dissolution of the GHF unless creditors come forward within 30 days. The U.S.-registered GHF had registered an affiliate on February 12 in Geneva, home to headquarters for most U.N. humanitarian agencies, the Red Cross and many of the other charities involved in global aid distribution. The GHF told Reuters it had made a strategic decision not to start operations in Switzerland, and was now working to dissolve its Swiss-based entity. The ESA told Reuters the GHF had not fulfilled certain legal requirements to operate in Switzerland, including having the correct number of board members, a postal address or a Swiss bank account. "GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered (branch)," the ESA said in a statement. Last week, Geneva authorities issued a separate legal notice to the GHF to remedy deficiencies within 30 days or face potential action. More than 500 people have been killed near GHF distribution hubs in Gaza or along access roads guarded by Israeli forces since the GHF started operating, according to Palestinian medical authorities in the territory. Israel's military acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians had been harmed near the distribution centres and said its forces had been issued new instructions following what it called "lessons learned". The GHF has defended its operations, saying it has delivered more than 52 million meals to needy Palestinians in five weeks, while other humanitarian groups had "nearly all of their aid looted". More than 170 humanitarian groups signed a letter this week calling on countries to press Israel to end its new system and return to letting in aid mainly through U.N.-run channels. Israel cut off all supplies into Gaza from the beginning of March until late May, sharply worsening an acute shortage of food in the territory, where nearly all of the 2.3 million-strong population has been displaced by war since 2023.
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump to host UFC fight at White House
The White House lawn is usually where Donald Trump delivers brutal slapdowns of his political opponents before the world's media. Next year, it could become the political battleground could be transformed into a ring, with the world's top fighters facing off in an Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) championship bout to mark America's 250th birthday. Mr Trump unveiled the plans at a rally in Iowa on Thursday, telling supporters the event would take place in front of up to 25,000 people. 'We're going to have a UFC fight on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there. Dana is going to do it,' Mr Trump said. The UFC is yet to officially confirm any details of the event but Mr White, who supported the president during his re-election campaign last November, shared the news on X alongside the caption: 'This will be epic'. The company's Instagram account also shared a video of Mr Trump's announcement, before asking fans who they would like to see fight at the White House. Conor McGregor, who is credited with making the UFC a global sport, said he would be 'honoured' to star in the event. 'Count me in!' he posted on X after wishing Americans a happy 4th of July. McGregor, who met Mr Trump at the White House on St Patrick's Day, has not fought in the UFC since breaking his leg in 2021, but periodically teases his return to the sport. Colby Covington, a former interim champion, is also a big Trump supporter, and was frequently pictured wearing a Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat during the election. Covington, who is from Florida, even blamed campaigning for Mr Trump for his loss to Joaquin Buckley in December. Sean Strickland, a former Middleweight champion from Anaheim, California, is another vocal Trump supporter. On Thursday, Strickland posted on X in response to a trans swimmer being stripped of their medals in response to a directive from Mr Trump: 'It went from William Thomas to Lia Thomas back to William is finally healing. LFG Trump'. Neither the White House or the UFC have provided details on where exactly the fight would take place, but there are a few limited options. One option is the Rose Garden, a smaller, more intimate outdoor space often used for presidential addresses or events. But the administration recently started work on paving over the grass in the Rose Garden, making it less likely. More likely is a makeshift Octagon on the South Lawn, the largest open area on the White House grounds, covering three acres. It's often used for large events and state ceremonies, meaning it has the capacity to host large crowds. At the centre of the UFC is White, who rescued the company from bankruptcy in the early 2000s and transformed it into a multi-billion dollar global enterprise. At the time, Mr Trump was one of the few figures who offered White a platform, allowing events to be hosted at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City when others refused. The two have been friends and political allies ever since. White spoke at both the 2016 and 2020 Republican conventions, before appearing alongside Mr Trump's closest friends and family when he retook the White House in November. Mr Trump is regularly treated as a guest of honour at the UFC, where he walks out alongside White to the roar of thousands of fans. Over the past decade, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has evolved from a fringe combat league – once denounced by the late Republican senator John McCain as 'human cockfighting' – into one of America's most influential cultural platforms. It is a mixed-martial arts promotion in which a series of fights take place around the world, also known as fight nights. It calls itself the 'premier organisation in Mixed Marshall Arts (MMA)'. The UFC is broadcast in over 170 countries, and reaches over 900 million households. Perched behind Mr Trump in the front row you will often see some of his closest political allies including RFK Jr, the health secretary; Kash Patel, the FBI director; and Elon Musk, who until recently was a key figure in the administration and close friend of the president. Hollywood stars and musicians are also staples at UFC events, including Chris Pratt, Jared Letto, Matt Damon and French footballer Kylian Mbappe.
