Harvard University sues the Trump administration over ban on enrolling foreign students

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 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.”

“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 Thursday, accusing Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus.

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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 “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 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 $2 billion in federal cuts imposed by the Republican administration.