A federal judge has temporarily suspended President Donald Trump's order banning foreign students from entering the United States to study at Harvard University.
Mr. Trump's announcement on Wednesday was the latest attempt by his administration to block the nation's oldest and wealthiest college from accepting a quarter of its students, who make up much of Harvard's research and development.
Harvard filed a lawsuit the next day, asking a judge to stop Mr. Trump’s order, calling it an unlawful response to Harvard’s refusal to comply with White House requests. Harvard argued that the president was trying to circumvent an earlier court order.
Shortly after, US District Judge Allison Burrows in Boston issued a temporary restraining order against Mr Trump's statement on Wednesday.
She said Harvard had shown that it would suffer “immediate and irreparable harm” before she had a chance to hear arguments.
Judge Burrows also extended a temporary restraining order she had previously imposed on the administration's attempt to stop Harvard from admitting foreign students.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security decertified Harvard to accept foreign students and issue them visas, but Judge Burrows temporarily halted that action. Mr. Trump’s order this week cited a different legal basis.
If Trump's bill passes the courts, it would prevent thousands of students from attending Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for the summer and fall semesters.
“More than 7,000 F-1 and J-1 visa holders at Harvard, as well as their dependents, have become pawns in a growing campaign of government retaliation,” Harvard said in a lawsuit filed Thursday.
While the trial continues, Harvard is developing contingency plans to ensure students and visiting scholars can continue their work at the university, President Alan Garber said in an address to campus and alumni.
“Each of us is part of a truly global university community,” Mr. Garber said Thursday. “We recognize that the benefits of bringing together talented people from around the world are unique and irreplaceable.”
Harvard is increasingly attracting the world's brightest minds: the number of international students has increased from 11% three decades ago to 26% today.
The rise in international students has made Harvard and other elite colleges particularly vulnerable to Trump's crackdown on international students.
Republicans are seeking to reform the nation's top colleges, which they see as breeding grounds for “woke” and anti-Semitic thought.
Mr. Garber said the university had made changes to combat anti-Semitism. But Harvard, he said, would not back down from its “core, legally protected principles,” even under federal ultimatums.
Mr. Trump's administration has also moved to withhold federal funding from Harvard and other elite colleges that have rejected White House demands regarding campus protests, admissions, hiring and other issues.
Harvard's $53bn (£39bn) endowment will allow it to cope with the loss of funding for now, although Mr Garber warned of “difficult decisions and sacrifices” ahead.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
