BOSTON, May 23:— A federal judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, in a decision that sharply rebukes the White House’s escalating campaign against elite academic institutions.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs freezes the administration’s policy while Harvard’s legal challenge proceeds. Burroughs, appointed by former President Barack Obama, sided with the university’s argument that the government’s move violated constitutional protections and would cause irreparable harm.
“Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard,” the university wrote in its complaint filed earlier this week in federal court in Boston. It described the revocation as “a blatant violation” of the U.S. Constitution and federal law, warning of an “immediate and devastating effect” on over 7,000 foreign students.
Harvard said the action would effectively erase a quarter of its student body “with the stroke of a pen,” undermining the school’s mission and global character.
The decision to revoke Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, effective beginning the 2025–2026 academic year, was formally announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Noem alleged in a letter to the university that Harvard had “created a hostile learning environment for Jewish students,” failed to adequately address antisemitism on campus, and “coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party.” She demanded the university provide, within 72 hours, comprehensive records of international students, including video and audio documentation of protest activity dating back five years.
Harvard flatly rejected the claims. “Homeland Security’s justification is the quintessence of arbitrariness,” the university stated in its court filing.
The revocation was part of a broader campaign by President Donald Trump to assert greater control over higher education and legal institutions. In recent weeks, his administration has moved to deport foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, threatened law firms representing opposition cases, and floated the idea of impeaching judges whose rulings he opposes.
Harvard is not new to legal confrontations with the federal government under Trump. The university previously sued to recover nearly $3 billion in withheld grants.
Other institutions and legal entities have responded to similar pressures in different ways. Columbia University revised disciplinary procedures and Middle East studies content after Trump threatened to pull $400 million in federal funding, citing alleged campus antisemitism.
Several major law firms, including WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey, have also taken legal action against federal directives perceived as politically motivated.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson dismissed Harvard’s lawsuit as “frivolous.”
“If only Harvard cared this much about ending the scourge of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators on their campus, they wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with,” Jackson said on Thursday. “Harvard should spend their time and resources on creating a safe campus environment.”
Despite that, Friday’s ruling offers temporary relief for Harvard and its international students as the university continues to challenge the administration’s actions in court.
Read more: After Fund Freeze, Trump Revokes Harvard’s Right to Enroll Foreign Students
