CNN
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A federal judge on Friday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University’s ability to host international students and scholars while legal challenges continue.
The preliminary injunction issued by US District Judge Allison Burroughs extends a temporary block the judge had issued last month against the administration after it revoked the school’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which allows it to host foreign students and scholars. International students make up roughly a quarter of the school’s student body.
Harvard’s legal battle against the administration took a turn in recent weeks after President Donald Trump issued a proclamation that suspends international visas for new students. The judge similarly stepped in on an emergency basis to halt that order in early June, and she heard arguments on Monday over whether she should also indefinitely block the edict. She has not yet issued a ruling on Trump’s proclamation.
Friday’s ruling represents a key win for the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, which Trump targeted earlier this year over allegations that it hadn’t adequately addressed antisemitism on campus. Administration officials also demanded that the private school eliminate what it calls “racist ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ practices.”
The administration’s decision in May to yank the school out of the Department of Homeland Security’s SEVP program was immediately met with a lawsuit by the school, which argued that the government had flouted the procedures that govern the process of making such a move.
But shortly before Burroughs, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, held a hearing on the matter, the administration said it would give Harvard a month to provide evidence to challenge its attempt to strip the university of its ability to host international students.
That move appeared intended to unravel the school’s legal challenge. It also represented a sudden reversal of the administration’s hardball stance on the student-visa issue.
Friday’s ruling from Burroughs does not impact the government from proceeding with that formal process, but instead prohibits officials from “implementing, instituting, maintaining, or giving any force or effect” to the original May 22 revocation that sparked the litigation.
“Defendants are not precluded by this Order from reviewing Plaintiff’s compliance with (federal regulations) as a designated sponsor in the Exchange Visitor Program or from issuing routine requests for information and documents from Plaintiff in order to assist in the regulatory compliance review,” the judge wrote.
This story has been updated with additional details.
