Harvard says fallout from Trump ban on international students already taking a toll

Boston Globe

29-05-2025

And on Thursday morning, US District Judge Allison D. Burroughs will hear arguments over Harvard's request for a preliminary injunction that would continue to prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from revoking the school's ability to enroll international students while a
Harvard officials argued in court records that the short window during which the directive went into effect before the temporary restraining order was granted underscored the harm that Harvard and its students will face if it's allowed to stand.
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As of Wednesday, it didn't appear that any of the students denied visas at the embassies last week
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Students and faculty 'have expressed profound fear, concern and confusion,' Martin wrote. She said too many international students to count have inquired about the possibility of transferring to another school. And at least a half dozen foreign consulates in the U.S. have reached out to Harvard for information about how the proposed revocation affects the welfare of students and scholars from their countries.
Dozens of incoming international students have asked about deferring their admission or obtaining Harvard's assistance in enrolling elsewhere, according to Martin.
Burroughs, who will oversee Thursday's hearing, is the same judge who issued the temporary restraining order last Friday, the same day Harvard filed its suit against the government and a day after Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that Harvard's certification to enroll student visa holders was revoked 'effective immediately.' Noem said the directive means that international students already attending the school would have to transfer or lose their legal status to remain in the country.
Noem accused Harvard of failing to provide information the administration had demanded about the criminality and misconduct of foreign students, and also of 'fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinatiing with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.'
However, in its lawsuit, Harvard called it 'the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government's demands to control Harvard's governance, curriculum, and the 'ideology' of its faculty and students.'
The suit alleges that the administration demanded an unprecedented amount of information related to international students, then claimed Harvard's response was 'insufficient,' without explaining why or citing any regulation that Harvard had failed to comply with.
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Harvard alleges that the revocation of its ability to enroll international students is 'a blatant violation' of its First Amendment and Due Process rights and argues it would have an immediate and devastating impact on the university and more than 7,000 visa holders.
'With the stroke of a pen — and without any legal justification — the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body,' Harvard's attorneys wrote. 'Without those students, Harvard is not Harvard.'
On Wednesday, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell filed an amicus brief in federal court supporting Harvard's request for a preliminary injunction, citing vital contributions that international students make to the state.
'It's clear that by revoking Harvard's ability to enroll international students — and by threatening the legal status of current students — the Trump Administration is seeking political retribution against an institution that rightly refuses to give up its academic independence,'
Campbell said in a statement.
In her brief, Campbell wrote, 'The Trump Administration's actions targeting international students and academics sends a chilling message to talented students and academics around the world: that they risk an end to their academic career in the United States (and potentially also risk detention and deportation) at the whims of the federal government. This message weakens the Commonwealth's position in the global competition for talent and is antithetical to American values.'
In court filings, Harvard wrote that it has admitted thousands more international students who are scheduled to come to campus for the upcoming summer and fall terms.
'By forbidding Harvard from enrolling foreign students and arbitrarily terminating the ability of existing students to complete coursework and degrees, the government does long-lasting harm to Harvard's 'goodwill and reputation,'' Harvard's lawyers wrote. 'Moreover, the government's action will immediately cripple Harvard's day-to-day functioning and ability to both advance academic inquiry and provide an excellent education.'
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Shelley Murphy can be reached at