In a lawsuit filed on Friday 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.”
The Harvard University on Friday sued the Trump administration over ban on enrolling foreign students. In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Boston, Harvard said the government’s action violates the First Amendment and will have an “mmediate 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. The Ivy League school calls the ban unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands.
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 Thursday, accusing Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus.
It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, contending the 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 antisemitism. He said Harvard would not budge on its “core, legally-protected principles” over fears of retaliation.
