Harvard Sues US Over Trump’s International Student Ban (2)

Harvard University sued the Trump administration over its move to block the school from enrolling international students, ratcheting up a high-stakes legal fight with broad implications for higher education in the US.

The Trump administration issued its decision on Thursday, delivering a major blow to the university and escalating the government’s fight with elite colleges to an unprecedented level.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in Massachusetts federal court Friday, Harvard asked the court to stop the government from blocking its enrollment of international students.

The government’s action has thrust thousands of foreign students into limbo. Both the suddenness and timing of the move have left current and accepted students struggling to figure out what to do next. At Harvard almost 6,800 students — 27% of the student body — come from other countries, up from 19.6% in 2006, according to the university’s data.

“We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action,” Harvard President Alan Garber said in a statement. “It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams.”

A representative for the Department of Homeland Security referred request for comment on Harvard’s lawsuit to the agency’s announcement of the move. In that statement Thursday, the department said Harvard had “created an unsafe campus environment.” The White House and the Department of Education didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

While Harvard is showing its community that it is fighting, the government is showing it has many powerful financial levers it can pull. Harvard is the richest US university, but its $53 billion endowment is largely restricted. The international student ban comes as the administration earlier froze more than $2.6 billion in federal funding and promised to stop future funding. President Donald Trump has also said he is looking to rescind its tax-exempt status.

Read More: Harvard Legal Fight Supercharged by Trump Foreign Student Ban

The US revoked Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor program certification, meaning foreign students can no longer attend the university. Existing international students must transfer or lose their legal status, the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday.

The Trump administration has said it’s taking action against Harvard over the school’s handling of alleged antisemitism on campus and government demands for more oversight.

The school earlier sued several US agencies for blocking federal funds after the government demanded it remake its governance, transform admissions and faculty hiring, stop admitting international students it says are hostile to US values and enforce viewpoint diversity.

“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 wrote in its complaint.

Harvard said in the suit that it has been certified by the federal government to enroll international students for more than 70 years.

Over that time, it said, it has “developed programs and degrees tailored to its international students, invested millions to recruit the most talented such students and integrated its international students into all aspects of the Harvard community. Yesterday, the government abruptly revoked that certification without process or cause, to immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.”

Effective immediately, most of Harvard’s thousands of enrolled F-1 and J-1 visa students will have little choice but to secure transfer to another school or be rendered without lawful status in the US. Harvard can no longer sponsor those visa holders for its upcoming summer and fall terms, despite having admitted thousands, and countless academic programs, research laboratories, clinics, and courses supported by Harvard’s international students have been thrown into disarray.

The case is President and Fellows of Harvard College v. Department of Homeland Security, 25-cv-11472, US District Court, District of Massachusetts (Boston).

(Updates with more details of the legal battle between Harvard and the Trump administration.)

--With assistance from Erik Larson and Akayla Gardner.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Janet Lorin in New York at jlorin@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net;
Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net;
Ben Bain at bbain2@bloomberg.net

Peter Jeffrey

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