Judge Blocks Trump Ban on Harvard Foreign Students

A federal judge granted Harvard a temporary restraining order in its suit to block the Trump administration’s efforts to revoke its authorization to enroll international students.

The order was issued less than two hours after the University requested a halt to the Department of Homeland Security’s attempt on Thursday to end its Student Exchange and Visitor Program certification. Harvard had described the move as “unprecedented and retaliatory.”

United States District Judge Allison D. Burroughs agreed that if the DHS’ move goes forward, Harvard “will sustain immediate and irreparable injury before there is an opportunity to hear from all parties.”

In their motion for a temporary restraining order, Harvard’s lawyers laid out the case that allowing the DHS order to take effect would leave a stark, irreversible scar on Harvard’s campus. They wrote that SEVP revocation could strip thousands of student visa holders of their legal status “overnight,” rendering them and more than 300 dependents subject to deportation.

International students in Harvard’s admitted class would not be able to enroll even after committing to the school, and “Harvard would be forced to dramatically shrink or reconfigure its carefully crafted incoming classes in a matter of weeks,” the University’s lawyers argued.

Current students would be forced to transfer to a different SEVP certified university or return to their home country. In total, Harvard would lose 26 percent of its student body, according to the lawsuit. And decertification now — even if Harvard’s status were eventually restored — could deter international students from applying and enrolling in the future.

The TRO motion also pointed out that international students are teaching fellows, researchers, and classmates alongside their American citizen peers, and losing them would leave a rift.

The TRO will go into effect immediately and will likely last until a hearing in the case. Burroughs has scheduled a May 27 status hearing and a May 29 hearing on whether to issue a preliminary injunction. Harvard would need to file for a preliminary injunction to prevent the DHS’ directive from going into effect after the TRO expires.

Under the terms of the order, the DHS is barred from enforcing the May 22 move to strip Harvard of its SEVP status — and Harvard is no longer legally obligated to turn over documents requested by the DHS before a Sunday deadline.

The Thursday decision follows a long back-and-forth between Harvard and the DHS over international students, who have been targeted in the Trump administration’s accusations that Harvard has fostered antisemitism.

In April, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that Harvard turn over documents on international students’ disciplinary records, illegal activities, and participation in protests.

But Harvard only partially complied with the records request, submitting information that it said was required by the law. Administrators have since refused to specify what documents Harvard has turned over to the DHS.

On Thursday, the DHS alleged that Harvard had ignored and refused to comply with a second records request they had issued in early May in response to what they called an “insufficient” first submission from the University. Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 insisted on Friday, though, that the University had responded to both the April and May requests in a law-abiding way.

The DHS had ordered Harvard on Thursday to submit another set of documents within 72 hours to have “the opportunity” to regain its SEVP certification — but Burroughs’ move now preempts that directive.

Burroughs, a Barack Obama appointee, has adjudicated several cases relating to Harvard in the past. She oversaw a case brought by Harvard and MIT in 2021 against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s effort to force all international students who were enrolled online in the U.S. to leave the country. ICE ultimately rolled back the policy without a ruling from Burroughs.

Burroughs is also overseeing Harvard’s first lawsuit, filed in April, against the Trump administration over its nearly $3 billion funding cut.