A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students — part of a long-running battle between the president and the Ivy League school.
The preliminary injunction from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs bars the government from cutting off Harvard’s access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a federal database that keeps track of student visa applications. The Boston-based judge had previously blocked the policy through a temporary restraining order.
The Department of Homeland Security told Harvard in May it was revoking its student visa system certification, telling the school “it is a privilege to enroll foreign students” — and the school “lost this privilege” by allegedly failing to deal with campus antisemitism. Harvard quickly sued, arguing the school was being punished for defying the administration’s political agenda.
President Trump issued a separate order earlier this month barring most international students from entering the U.S. to study at Harvard. Burroughs blocked that move two weeks ago.
CBS News has reached out to the White House and Harvard for comment.
The battle over international students could have grave consequences for Harvard, where about one in four students hail from outside the United States. Mr. Trump suggested last month that Harvard should cap its foreign student enrollment at 15%, and share more information with the government so it can determine whether prospective students are “troublemakers.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also ordered “additional vetting” for anybody who wants to travel to Harvard from abroad, including students as well as staff, faculty, guest speakers and tourists, CBS News has previously reported.
It’s part of a wider back-and-forth between Harvard and the Trump administration. In April, the administration pushed the school to make a range of policy changes in order to maintain its “financial relationship” with the government, including external audits of some academic departments and an end to diversity, equity and inclusion programs. When the school refused, the government said it would cut off billions of dollars in grants to Harvard.
Other universities have faced similar pressure, including demands for policy changes — often zeroing in on the schools’ handling of pro-Palestinian protests — and grant freezes.
Earlier this week, the State Department announced guidelines for vetting student visa applicants’ social media accounts, telling staff to look for signs of “hostility” toward the U.S.
And some international students who are already in the U.S. have faced scrutiny. Authorities have detained several students linked to pro-Palestinian activism, including Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi from Columbia and Rumeysa Ozturk from Tufts. Mahdawi and Ozturk have since been released, and a judge ordered Khalil’s release Friday.
