A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's order banning foreign students from entering the United States to study at Harvard University.
Mr. Trump's announcement on Wednesday was the latest attempt by his administration to block the nation's oldest and richest college from admitting a quarter of its students, who make up much of Harvard's research and development.
Harvard filed a lawsuit the next day, asking a judge to block Mr. Trump’s order and calling it an unlawful retaliation for Harvard’s rejection of the White House’s demands. Harvard said the president was trying to circumvent a previous court order.
Hours later, US District Judge Allison Burrows in Boston issued a temporary restraining order against Mr Trump's statement on Wednesday.
She said Harvard had demonstrated that it would suffer “immediate and irreparable harm” before she even had a chance to hear from the parties in the lawsuit.
Ms. Burrows also extended a temporary suspension she had imposed on the administration's previous attempt to stop admitting international students to Harvard.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Harvard’s certification to accept foreign students and issue them visas, but Ms. Burrows temporarily blocked that action. Mr. Trump’s order this week cited a different legal basis.
If Trump's bill survives a court challenge, it would prevent thousands of students from coming to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the summer and fall semesters.
“More than 7,000 F-1 and J-1 visa holders at Harvard, as well as their dependents, have become pawns in the government’s escalating campaign of retaliation,” Harvard said in a lawsuit filed Thursday.
While the lawsuit continues, Harvard is developing contingency plans to ensure students and visiting scholars can continue their work at the university, President Alan Garber said in an address to campus and alumni.
“Each of us is part of a truly global university community,” Mr. Garber said Thursday. “We know that the benefits of bringing together talented people from around the world are unique and irreplaceable.”
Harvard is attracting more and more of the world's brightest minds: the number of international students has grown from 11% three decades ago to 26% today.
The rise in international students has made Harvard and other elite colleges particularly vulnerable to Trump's crackdown on international students.
Republicans are pushing for reform at the nation's top colleges, which they see as breeding grounds for “woke” and anti-Semitic views.
Mr. Garber said the university had made changes to combat anti-Semitism. But Harvard, he said, would not back down from its “core, legally protected principles,” even in the face of federal ultimatums.
Mr. Trump's administration has also moved to withhold federal funding from Harvard and other elite colleges that have rejected White House demands related to campus protests, admissions, hiring and other issues.
Harvard's $53bn (£39bn) endowment allows it to survive the loss of funding for some time, although Mr Garber warned of “difficult decisions and sacrifices” ahead.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
