A federal judge in Massachusetts on Friday further blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students while giving those students additional legal protections.
U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued the preliminary injunction after having granted a temporary restraining order against the federal government this month.
The injunction holds that the administration is blocked from yanking Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, which was based on a May 22 revocation notice the Department of Homeland Security sent to Harvard administrators.
In her decision, Burroughs directed the government to “immediately” prepare guidance to alert Trump administration officials to disregard that notice and to restore “every visa holder and applicant to the position that individual would have been absent such Revocation Notice.”
It also says the student visa holders should not be denied entry to the country as a result of the revocation.
The government must “file a status report within 72 hours of entry of this Order describing the steps taken to ensure compliance with this Order and certifying compliance with its requirements,” Burroughs wrote.
Preliminary injunctions can be appealed, which the Justice Department is likely to do.
The Justice Department and DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The May letter from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration was revoking Harvard’s ability to enroll international students in part because it had been “perpetuating an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students, promotes pro-Hamas sympathies, and employs racist ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ policies.”
Harvard denied the allegations and called Noem’s actions “unlawful and unwarranted.”
Trump said in a presidential proclamation this month that he would deny visas to foreign students who were looking to come to the United States to attend Harvard. The school hit back, amending its May lawsuit and asking the court to halt enforcement of the proclamation, which Burroughs swiftly granted.
At a hearing on the injunction, Ian Heath Gershenger, an attorney for the university, accused the administration of “using international students as pawns” and singling out Harvard. Justice Department attorneys focused on the administration’s national security concerns, saying they did not trust Harvard to vet thousands of international students.
An attorney for the Trump administration previously said that it does not have the same concerns in regard to other schools but that that could change.
The revocation was one of the latest moves the administration has taken against Harvard after the school refused to adhere to a set of demands issued by the administration’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. Those demands included making sweeping reforms to policies about whom the university can hire and admit and subjecting the ideologies of faculty members to an audit approved by the government.
In April, the task force announced it would cut more than $2 billion in grants after the school rejected its demands, which included restricting the acceptance of international students who are “hostile to the American values and institutions.”
Harvard quickly sued the administration and accused it of seeking “unprecedented and improper” control of the school. As tensions escalated, the administration weeks later further asked all federal agencies to end their contracts with Harvard — an amount totaling $100 million.
The administration’s targeting of the prestigious university has drawn backlash from critics and free speech advocates, as well as support for the school from fellow institutions.
Two dozen universities filed an amicus brief in support of the school this month, arguing that the funding freeze would affect more than just Harvard because of the interconnectedness of scientific research and that it would ultimately hinder American innovation and economic growth.
And a group of 12,041 Harvard alumni, including prominent names like Conan O’Brien and author Margaret E. Atwood, filed a separate brief describing the withholding of funds as a “reckless and unlawful” attempt to assert control over the school and other higher education institutions.
Trump, meanwhile, suggested Friday on social media that he may be able to settle his differences with the school.
“Many people have been asking what is going on with Harvard University and their largescale improprieties that we have been addressing, looking for a solution. We have been working closely with Harvard, and it is very possible that a Deal will be announced over the next week or so,” he said on Truth Social.
“They have acted extremely appropriately during these negotiations, and appear to be committed to doing what is right,” Trump said. “If a Settlement is made on the basis that is currently being discussed, it will be ‘mindbogglingly’ HISTORIC, and very good for our Country.”
