Friday, June 6, 2025 - A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s proclamation barring new international students from entering Harvard University, delivering a swift legal setback to the White House in a high-stakes battle over academic freedom and immigration policy.
US District Judge Allison Burroughs issued the restraining
order late Thursday, citing the risk of “immediate and irreparable injury” to
the university if the measure was allowed to proceed. The ruling came just
hours after Harvard filed an emergency request, arguing the ban would bar a
quarter of its student body, its international students, from entering the
United States.
Trump’s proclamation, signed Wednesday, directs the
Secretary of State to suspend visas for new international students bound for
Harvard and to consider revoking visas for current students. The White House
justified the measure on national security grounds, claiming the elite
university has failed to address issues like antisemitism and campus violence.
Harvard’s amended lawsuit sharply contests those claims,
calling the proclamation a “government vendetta” and accusing the
administration of violating the First Amendment and academic freedom. The suit
argues that Trump is targeting the university not for security reasons but in
retaliation for its refusal to adopt ideologically driven federal mandates.
“Without its international students, Harvard is not
Harvard,” the complaint states, asserting that the proclamation is an attempt
to circumvent prior court orders and eliminate foreign student participation
through administrative fiat.
The case builds on an earlier legal battle between the
university and the Department of Homeland Security. In May, the same judge had
blocked DHS from revoking Harvard’s certification to host international
students under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. The latest
presidential action, the university contends, is a workaround aimed at
achieving the same goal by barring students from entering the country in the
first place.
Harvard President Alan Garber denounced the move as “yet
another illegal step taken by the Administration to retaliate against Harvard,”
adding that the university would continue to defend its students and assert its
constitutional rights. He vowed institutional support for those affected and
emphasized the importance of Harvard’s international community to its academic
mission.
The dispute reflects a broader campaign by the Trump
administration against elite universities, particularly Harvard, which is also
challenging a separate order threatening over $2 billion in federal funding and
its tax-exempt status. That case, also before Judge Burroughs, is scheduled for
hearings next month.
In parallel to the visa ban, the State Department reportedly
issued directives to consular officials to increase scrutiny of Harvard-bound
visa applicants, including detailed reviews of their social media presence. The
lawsuit claims that applicants who refuse to make their social media accounts
public, or do not use social media, could be denied visas for appearing
“evasive.”
Critics warn the new measures may have chilling effects on
international academic collaboration and threaten to damage the United States'
standing in global education and research.
The restraining order will remain in place until the court
hears full arguments in mid-June on whether to permanently block the
proclamation. The White House has not yet commented on the judge’s decision.
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