WASHINGTON: Harvard University is challenging the Trump administration’s decision to bar the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students, calling it unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands.
In a lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court in Boston, Harvard said the government’s action violates the First Amendment and will have an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders”.
“With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,” Harvard said in its suit.
The school said it plans to file for a temporary restraining order to block the Department of Homeland Security from carrying out the move.
Harvard enrols almost 6,800 foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Most are graduate students and they come from more than 100 countries.
The department announced the action on Thursday, accusing Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing what the department labelled as anti-American “agitators”.
It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, in relation to allegations that school had hosted and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024.
Harvard President Alan Garber earlier this month said the university has made changes to its governance over the past year and a half, including a broad strategy to combat what has been perceived by some as antisemitism.
He said Harvard would not budge on its “its core, legally-protected principles” over fears of retaliation.
Harvard has said it will respond at a later time to allegations first raised by House Republicans about its supposed coordination with the Chinese Communist Party.
The threat to Harvard’s international enrollment stems from an April 16 request from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who demanded that Harvard provide information about foreign students that might implicate them in violence or protests that could lead to their deportation.
Noem said Harvard can regain its ability to host foreign students if it produces a trove of records on foreign students within 72 hours.
Her updated request demands all records, including audio or video footage, of foreign students participating in protests or dangerous activity on campus.
The suit is separate from the university’s earlier one challenging more than US$2bil (RM8.5bil) in federal cuts imposed by the Republican administration.
Earlier, a federal judge on Thursday ordered a nationwide halt to any terminations of international students’ legal status, although it was not immediately clear how the ruling would impact those enrolled at Harvard.
Judge Jeffrey White said US officials have “wreaked havoc” on people’s lives, and the injunction would provide “stability” for them to continue their studies. — AP
