Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over Ban on Enrolling International Students

Harvard University has officially challenged the Trump administration’s decision to prevent the Ivy League school from enrolling the foreign student from their campus. In its complaint, Harvard called the decision unconstitutional retaliation for defying the political demands of the White House. In a lawsuit filed by the school in federal court in Boston, according to AP, the Ivy League school asserted that the government’s actions violate the First Amendment and will have an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and beyond to over 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.

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Harvard also stated it anticipates is filing an application for a temporary restraining order to block the Department of Homeland Security from implementing its action. Harvard University enrolls about 6,800 foreign students from over 100 countries on its Cambridge, Massachusetts campus. Most enrolled students are graduate students aspiring liberal education.

The department revealed the action on Thursday in a report indicating that it accused Harvard University of creating an unsafe campus for its students in its report, or accusing it of allowing the “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to physically attack Jewish students on campus. It also accused Harvard University of colluding with the Chinese Communist Party by advocating their ideology and funding students from some international, well-treated serving the Chinese Communist Party where it had even hosted and trained for members of a Chinese paramilitary organization, all as recently as 2024 according to AP.

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In a previous statement, Harvard President Alan Garber noted that the university had undergone changes to its governance in the last year and a half, which included a broad strategy to combat antisemitism. He said Harvard would not be moving on its "core, legally protected principles" because of concerns about pushback.

Harvard has said it will respond at a later time to the allegations first raised by House Republicans about coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, according to AP.

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