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Business Standard
a day ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
Trump admin moves to dismiss Harvard's lawsuit over ban on foreign students
The Trump administration asked a federal judge to throw out Harvard University's lawsuit over a proposed ban on international students, saying the president has broad authority to issue rules restricting the entry of non-citizens into the country. The Justice Department said in a court filing in Boston Friday that Harvard doesn't have the legal right to challenge the restrictions. The dispute involves Harvard's certification with the Student Exchange and Visitor Program — a requirement for any university to enroll international students. In June, President Donald Trump signed an executive action that prevents foreign nationals from entering the US to study at Harvard, accusing the school of failing to implement discipline on campus and fostering a dramatic rise in crime. Trump has made Harvard the main target of his effort to force universities to reshape higher education by cracking down on alleged antisemitism, removing perceived political bias among the faculty and eliminating diversity programs. Judge Allison Burroughs is expected to rule soon in another dispute over whether the government can terminate more than $2 billion in federal research funding for the school. Harvard sued the administration over the international students in May, arguing that the enrollment ban violates its due process rights and fails to follow federal regulations. Burroughs, who is overseeing multiple lawsuits between the school and the Trump administration, granted the university's request for a preliminary injunction blocking the policy, and then issued another order saying the government can't enforce Trump's ban on its international students entering the US. The Harvard lawsuit related to foreign students addresses both sections of the Trump policy. Compliance with the program 'is an important requirement for hosting foreign student visa holders to ensure they are adequately monitored, disciplined, and reported on,' the US said in the filing. 'Harvard was not complying with its obligations. This raised serious national security and public safety concerns, of which the President's determination is due the utmost deference.' A Harvard spokesperson said that the government's motion Friday has has no impact on the school's ability to enroll international students. 'The university will continue to defend its rights — and the rights of its students and scholars,' the spokesperson said. The Justice Department didn't immediately return a message seeking comment. The Trump administration has been trying for months to stop foreign students from enrolling at Harvard, one of several levers that could hurt the university's finances. In the last academic year, 27 per cent of Harvard students came from abroad. Ivy League Settlements Harvard, the oldest and richest US college with an endowment of $53 billion, and the government have been negotiating toward a global settlement but have yet to come to a deal. Ivy League peers the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia and Brown have reached agreements in recent weeks. The White House views a payment of $500 million by Harvard University as a floor in negotiations, and the cost of a deal could climb far higher if the school doesn't submit to government oversight provisions, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Justice Department lawyers said earlier this week that the US would no longer rely on a May 22 letter by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to justify the near-immediate ban on foreign students it sought, but plans to move forward through an administrative process to 'simplify this case and narrow the issues.' The case is Harvard v. US Department of Homeland Security, 25-cv-11472, US District Court, District of Massachusetts (Boston).
Mint
2 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Trump DOJ Asks to Dismiss Harvard Suit Over Foreign Students
The Trump administration asked a federal judge to throw out Harvard University's lawsuit over a proposed ban on international students, saying the president has broad authority to issue rules restricting the entry of non-citizens into the country. The Justice Department said in a court filing in Boston Friday that Harvard doesn't have the legal right to challenge the restrictions. The dispute involves Harvard's certification with the Student Exchange and Visitor Program — a requirement for any university to enroll international students. In June, President Donald Trump signed an executive action that prevents foreign nationals from entering the US to study at Harvard, accusing the school of failing to implement discipline on campus and fostering a dramatic rise in crime. Trump has made Harvard the main target of his effort to force universities to reshape higher education by cracking down on alleged antisemitism, removing perceived political bias among the faculty and eliminating diversity programs. Judge Allison Burroughs is expected to rule soon in another dispute over whether the government can terminate more than $2 billion in federal research funding for the school. Harvard sued the administration over the international students in May, arguing that the enrollment ban violates its due process rights and fails to follow federal regulations. Burroughs, who is overseeing multiple lawsuits between the school and the Trump administration, granted the university's request for a preliminary injunction blocking the policy, and then issued another order saying the government can't enforce Trump's ban on its international students entering the US. The Harvard lawsuit related to foreign students addresses both sections of the Trump policy. Compliance with the program 'is an important requirement for hosting foreign student visa holders to ensure they are adequately monitored, disciplined, and reported on,' the US said in the filing. 'Harvard was not complying with its obligations. This raised serious national security and public safety concerns, of which the President's determination is due the utmost deference.' A Harvard spokesperson said that the government's motion Friday has has no impact on the school's ability to enroll international students. 'The university will continue to defend its rights — and the rights of its students and scholars,' the spokesperson said. The Justice Department didn't immediately return a message seeking comment. The Trump administration has been trying for months to stop foreign students from enrolling at Harvard, one of several levers that could hurt the university's finances. In the last academic year, 27% of Harvard students came from abroad. Harvard, the oldest and richest US college with an endowment of $53 billion, and the government have been negotiating toward a global settlement but have yet to come to a deal. Ivy League peers the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia and Brown have reached agreements in recent weeks. The White House views a payment of $500 million by Harvard University as a floor in negotiations, and the cost of a deal could climb far higher if the school doesn't submit to government oversight provisions, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Justice Department lawyers said earlier this week that the US would no longer rely on a May 22 letter by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to justify the near-immediate ban on foreign students it sought, but plans to move forward through an administrative process to 'simplify this case and narrow the issues.' The case is Harvard v. US Department of Homeland Security, 25-cv-11472, US District Court, District of Massachusetts . With assistance from Janet Lorin. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
US offers to ‘simplify' Harvard case over foreign student ban
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills The Trump administration offered Wednesday to 'simplify' its lawsuit with Harvard University over a proposed ban on international student enrollment as both sides face off in a broader dispute involving billions in frozen federal shift is the latest twist in litigation over the government's attempt in May to revoke Harvard's ability to enroll international students, citing claims of campus antisemitism and alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party. A federal judge quickly blocked the Department lawyers said in the latest court filing that the US would no longer rely on a May 22 letter by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to justify the near-immediate ban it sought. Instead, it plans to move forward through an administrative process to 'simplify this case and narrow the issues.'The government also signaled it was 'open to counterproposals and a meet and confer' with Harvard, but the university declined, according to the filing. Harvard has also sued over the Trump administration's freezing of more than $2 billion in federal research dispute involves Harvard's certification with the Student Exchange and Visitor Program — a requirement for any university to enroll international students. The latest move from DHS does not change Harvard's SEVP status or that of its international students.A Harvard spokesman had no comment White House views a payment of $500 million by Harvard University as a floor in negotiations for a settlement, and the cost of a deal could climb far higher if the school doesn't submit to government oversight provisions, according to people with knowledge of the Secretary Linda McMahon has said she expects Columbia University's recent $221 million settlement with the government to be a template for agreements with other schools. Columbia agreed to reduce the university's dependence on international students and report any legal infractions by visa holders to immigration deal included a monitor role, and the administration is all but insisting that Harvard agree to the same case is Harvard v. US Department of Homeland Security, 25-cv-11472, US District Court, District of Massachusetts (Boston).
Los Angeles Times
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
How Trump has targeted Harvard's international students — and what the latest court ruling means
President Trump and his administration have tried several tactics to block Harvard University's enrollment of international students, part of the White House's effort to secure policy changes at the private Ivy League college. Targeting foreign students has become the administration's cornerstone effort to crack down on the nation's oldest and wealthiest college. The block on international enrollment, which accounts for a quarter of Harvard's students and much of its global allure, strikes at the core of Harvard's identity. Courts have stopped some of the government's actions, at least for now — but not all. In the latest court order, a federal judge Friday put one of those efforts on hold until a lawsuit is resolved. But the fate of Harvard's international students — and its broader standoff with the Trump administration — remains in limbo. Here are the ways the Trump administration has moved to block Harvard's foreign enrollment — and where each effort stands. In May, the Trump administration tried to ban foreign students at Harvard, citing the Department of Homeland Security's authority to oversee which colleges are part of the Student Exchange and Visitor Program. The program allows colleges to issue documents that foreign students need to study in the United States. Harvard filed a lawsuit, arguing the administration violated the government's own regulations for withdrawing a school's certification. Within hours, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston put the administration's ban on hold temporarily — an order that had an expiration date. On Friday, she issued a preliminary injunction, blocking Homeland Security's move until the case is decided. That could take months or longer. The government can and does remove colleges from the Student Exchange and Visitor Program, making them ineligible to host foreign students on their campuses. However, it's usually for administrative reasons outlined in law, such as failing to maintain accreditation, lacking proper facilities for classes, failing to employ qualified professional personnel — even failing to 'operate as a bona fide institution of learning.' Other colleges are removed when they close. Notably, Burroughs' order Friday said the federal government still has authority to review Harvard's ability to host international students through normal processes outlined in law. After Burroughs' emergency block in May, DHS issued a more typical 'Notice of Intent to Withdraw' Harvard's participation in the international student visa program. 'Today's order does not affect the DHS's ongoing administrative review,' Harvard said Friday in a message to its international students. 'Harvard is fully committed to compliance with the applicable F-1 (student visa) regulations and strongly opposes any effort to withdraw the University's certification.' Earlier this month, Trump moved to block entry to the United States for incoming Harvard students, issuing a proclamation that invoked a different legal authority. Harvard filed a court challenge attacking Trump's legal justification for the action — a federal law allowing the president to block a 'class of aliens' deemed detrimental to the nation's interests. Targeting only those who are coming to the U.S. to study at Harvard doesn't qualify as a 'class of aliens,' Harvard said in its filing. Harvard's lawyers asked the court to block the action. Burroughs agreed to pause the entry ban temporarily, without giving an expiration date. She has not yet ruled on Harvard's request for another preliminary injunction, which would pause the ban until the court case is decided. 'We expect the judge to issue a more enduring decision in the coming days,' Harvard told international students Friday. At the center of Trump's pressure campaign against Harvard are his assertions that the school has tolerated anti-Jewish harassment, especially during pro-Palestinian protests. In seeking to keep Harvard students from coming to the U.S., he said Harvard is not a suitable destination. Harvard President Alan Garber has said the university has made changes to combat antisemitism and will not submit to the administration's demands for further changes. In late May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed U.S. embassies and consulates to start reviewing social media accounts of visa applicants who plan to attend, work at or visit Harvard University for any signs of antisemitism. On Wednesday, the State Department said it was launching new vetting of social media accounts for foreigners applying for student visas, and not just those seeking to attend Harvard. Consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles, the department said, telling visa applicants to set their social media accounts to 'public.' In reopening the visa process, the State Department also told consulates to prioritize students hoping to enroll at colleges where foreigners make up less than 15% of the student body, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail information that has not been made public. Foreign students make up more than 15% of the total student body at almost 200 U.S. universities — including Harvard and the other Ivy League schools, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal education data from 2023. Most are private universities, including all eight Ivy League schools. Some Harvard students are also caught up in the government's recent ban against travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 nations, mostly in Africa and the Middle East. The Trump administration last weekend called for 36 additional countries to commit to improving vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. Harvard sponsors more than 7,000 people on a combination of F-1 and J-1 visas, which are issued to students and to foreigners visiting the U.S. on exchange programs such as fellowships. Across all the schools that make up the university, about 26% of the student body is from outside the United States. But some schools and programs, by nature of their subject matter, have significantly more international students. At the Harvard Kennedy School, which covers public policy and public administration, 49% of students are on F-1 visas. In the business school, one-third of students come from abroad. And within the law school, 94% of the students in the master's program in comparative law are international students. The administration has imposed a range of sanctions on Harvard since it rejected the government's demands for policy reforms related to campus protests, admissions, hiring and more. Conservatives say the demands are merited, decrying Harvard as a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. Harvard says the administration is illegally retaliating against the university.
Time of India
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
How Trump's visa crackdown is threatening Harvard's 7,000 plus international students and what the court just ruled
Federal court blocks Trump's move to restrict Harvard's international student enrollment. (AP Photo) President Donald Trump's administration has escalated efforts to restrict international students at Harvard University, directly affecting over 7,000 foreign students and casting uncertainty over one of the nation's most prestigious universities. This crackdown targets nearly a quarter of Harvard's student body, shaking the university's global standing and raising significant legal and educational concerns. However, recent court rulings have temporarily stalled some of these moves, leaving the fate of Harvard's international students unresolved. The Trump administration's push against Harvard's foreign enrollment represents a broader policy effort to tighten controls on international students in the US. Central to this effort is the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) attempt to revoke Harvard's certification to host foreign students under the Student Exchange and Visitor Program. This program authorizes universities to issue the necessary documents for foreign students to study in the US, making it critical for Harvard's international enrollment. Federal judge halts homeland security's attempt to block international students In a significant development, U.S. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo District Judge Allison Burroughs temporarily blocked the DHS's ban on Harvard hosting foreign students, citing irregularities in the government's process. The judge's preliminary injunction prevents the administration from withdrawing Harvard's participation in the visa program until the lawsuit filed by the university is resolved. According to Harvard, the ruling 'does not affect the DHS's ongoing administrative review,' but the court's intervention provides temporary relief for more than 7,000 students relying on the program, as reported by the Associated Press. The Trump administration claims that revoking Harvard's certification is a lawful exercise of its authority to regulate foreign student visas. Usually, such action is reserved for clear violations like loss of accreditation or failing to operate as a bona fide institution of learning. However, Harvard argues the administration's efforts are politically motivated retaliation over campus protests and alleged failures to control antisemitism, which the university disputes. Harvard President Alan Garber has stated the university has taken measures to combat antisemitism and will not concede to the administration's demands, according to the Associated Press. Blocking entry of incoming students and increased visa scrutiny In addition to attempting to revoke Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students, President Trump issued a proclamation to block entry for incoming Harvard students, invoking authority to deny entry to groups deemed detrimental to national interests. Harvard has challenged this in court, arguing that targeting only Harvard students does not constitute a valid 'class of aliens,' and Judge Burroughs has paused the entry ban for now. Further complicating the situation, the US State Department has intensified social media vetting for visa applicants attending Harvard and other universities, searching for signs of hostility toward the US. This policy expansion means more scrutiny for thousands of foreign students hoping to study at American institutions. The State Department also instructed consulates to prioritize visa approvals for students enrolling at schools with less than 15% foreign student populations, a threshold Harvard exceeds, as reported by the Associated Press. Harvard's international student body and the stakes International students make up approximately 26% of Harvard's total student body, with certain programs being even more dependent on foreign enrollment. For example, 49% of students at the Harvard Kennedy School hold F-1 visas, a third of the business school's students come from abroad, and 94% of the master's program in comparative law consists of international students. This crackdown threatens not only the students' ability to remain in the US but also Harvard's identity as a global academic leader. Conservatives supporting the administration's policies criticize Harvard as a hub of liberalism and antisemitism, but the university insists the government's actions are illegal retaliation, as reported by the Associated Press. As the court case unfolds, Harvard's 7,000 plus international students remain in limbo, highlighting the complex intersection of immigration policy, education, and politics under President Trump's administration. Is your child ready for the careers of tomorrow? Enroll now and take advantage of our early bird offer! Spaces are limited.
