Trump admin seeks dismissal of Harvard lawsuit, citing ‘serious national security' risks

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4 days ago

The Trump administration asked a federal judge to dismiss Harvard University's lawsuit over international students, claiming the students 'present serious national security and public safety risks,' according to a Friday court filing.
The filing is part of Harvard's second lawsuit against the Trump administration. A federal judge has already granted two preliminary injunctions related to the case in late June. One preliminary injunction allows Harvard to host international students. No appeal has been filed on that decision.
The other rejects a Trump administration attempt to ban Harvard foreign students from entering the country to study. This decision was appealed by the Trump administration and will now go to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Trump administration explained the second action in a Friday filing by claiming that Harvard has faced 'increased crime rates, disciplinary failures, unrest on campus, entanglement with foreign adversaries and ongoing discrimination in admissions.'
After requesting Harvard to provide the disciplinary and criminal records of its foreign students, the federal government said the university's responses have been 'woefully inadequate.'
Meanwhile, Harvard's first lawsuit focuses on the stripping of $2.6 billion of Harvard's federal dollars by the Trump administration. The federal judge has yet to make a decision on the case.
Read more: Legal document shows discord between Harvard and Trump admin amid negotiations
The latest push from the Trump administration to dismiss the lawsuit comes after a court filing on Wednesday, where the Trump administration said it made an offer to Harvard that it would not use a May 22 letter revoking a key certification that allows the university to host international students.
The offer was made in an attempt to 'simplify this case and narrow the issues in dispute,' according to the filing. The Trump administration also said it was 'open to counterproposals and a meet and confer,' but Harvard didn't accept.
At the end of July, The New York Times reported that Harvard University was open to a potential $500 million settlement as a means of ending the months-long battle with the Trump administration.
However, faculty at Harvard close with President Alan Garber dispute that, according to three unnamed sources in reporting by The Harvard Crimson.
The sources said that information was leaked to the press by White House officials and that the university is interested in resolving the dispute through its two federal court cases, according to the outlet.
What has happened between the Trump admin and Harvard?
The Trump administration has gone after Harvard since April, cutting billions of dollars.
Demanding an overhaul of Harvard's leadership structure, admissions and hiring — the federal government warned the school could risk losing $9 billion in funding.
Harvard rejected those demands, stating they seek to 'invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court.'
Then the fight over funding occurred.
It began with a $2.2 billion funding freeze on April 14 after the school refused to comply with the federal administration's demands.
In response, Harvard filed a lawsuit on April 21, arguing that its constitutional rights had been violated by the government's threats to pull billions of dollars in funding.
Harvard President Garber also signed onto a letter with hundreds of other university presidents pushing back against 'government overreach and political interference' by the Trump administration.
At the beginning of May, the Trump administration said it would bar Harvard University from acquiring new federal grants while the school continues to refuse to comply with the administration's demands for change on its campus.
A few days later, eight federal agencies cut $450 million in grants and then the United States Department of Health and Human Services cut $60 million in grants from the university.
Harvard went on to amend its lawsuit against the Trump administration.
Read more: Trump used her story to attack Harvard. She says 'don't destroy the university in my name'
On May 16, a wave of nearly one thousand federal research grant terminations began, amounting to more than $2.4 billion, according to an analysis by Nature.
In response, Harvard established a new Presidential Priorities Fund, asking for donations in the midst of federal cuts.
Some of Harvard's schools, including its School of Public Health, took to social media to ask for donations after nearly every single federal grant had been terminated.
Other investigations and threats have been made against the institution, some of which have focused on threatening the university's ability to enroll international students.
This prompted Harvard to open a second lawsuit against the Trump administration over its ability to accept international students.
Most recently, the State Department opened an investigation into Harvard University's use of international visas.
The Department of Homeland Security has also subpoenaed Harvard over its failure to provide documents concerning the misconduct or criminal actions of foreign students.
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Read the original article on MassLive.