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• Lawsuit rejects demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum
• China says ban would ‘only harm image and international standing of US’
• Judge temporarily halts Trump’s order
NEW YORK: Harvard sued the Trump administration on Friday over its move to block the prestigious university from enrolling and hosting foreign students in a broadening dispute, a court filing showed.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign nationals, throwing the future of thousands of students into doubt.
President Donald Trump is furious at Harvard, which has produced 162 Nobel prize winners, for rejecting his demand that it submit to oversight on admissions and hiring over his claims that it is a hotbed of anti-Semitism and “woke” liberal ideology.
His administration has already threatened to put $9 billion of government funding to Harvard under review, gone on to freeze a first tranche of $2.2bn of grants and $60m of official contracts, as well as targeting a Harvard Medical School researcher for deportation.
“It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the ‘ideology’ of its faculty and students,” said the lawsuit filed in Massachusetts federal court.
The loss of foreign nationals — more than a quarter of its student body — could prove costly to Harvard, which charges tens of thousands of dollars a year in tuition.
‘Unlawful and unwarranted’
Harvard President Alan Garber said in a statement Friday that “we condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action.
“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,” he said.
“We have just filed a complaint, and a motion for a temporary restraining order will follow.”
Noem had said, “This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.” Chinese students make up more than a fifth of Harvard’s international enrollment, according to university figures, and Beijing said the decision will “only harm the image and international standing of the United States.”
“The Chinese side has consistently opposed the politicisation of educational cooperation,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
Harvard has already sued the US government over a separate raft of punitive measures.
Leaders of the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors called the decision “the latest in a string of nakedly authoritarian and retaliatory moves against America’s oldest institution of higher education.”
Judge halts implementation
A district judge later suspended the Trump administration’s move to block Harvard from enrolling and hosting foreign students. Judge Allison Burroughs ordered, “The Trump administration is hereby enjoined from implementing... the revocation of Plaintiff’s SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) certification.”
There will be an injunction hearing on May 29, a court filing showed.
‘Fatal’ US foreigner ban
Meanwhile, Germany on Friday blasted the US government’s “fatal” decision to revoke Harvard University’s right to enrol foreign students and urged the Trump administration to reconsider.
Germany’s Research Minister Dorothee Baer told the Bayern 2 radio station that she hoped “the US government will reverse this decision,” adding: “It’s not a positive signal, neither for the young generation nor the free world.”
Dismayed Chinese students feared for their international futures on Friday after US President Donald Trump revoked Harvard University’s right to enrol foreign nationals.
The sharp escalation in Trump’s longstanding feud with the elite Cambridge, Massachusetts-based college came as tensions simmer between Washington and Beijing over trade and other issues.
Around 1,300 Chinese students are currently enrolled at Harvard University, according to official figures.
Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2025
