A federal judge issued an injunction to block the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) move to prevent Harvard from enrolling international students.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs agreed to grant Harvard’s request for relief, writing that her order is “justified to preserve the status quo pending a hearing.”
The temporary injunction follows Harvard filing a lawsuit against the DHS directive revoking the enrollment of foreign students. “We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action. It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams,” Harvard University President Alan Garber said. “We have just filed a complaint, and a motion for a temporary restraining order will follow. As we pursue legal remedies, we will do everything in our power to support our students and scholars. The Harvard International Office will provide periodic updates as new information becomes available.”
“This revocation is a blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act. It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the ‘ideology’ of its faculty and students,” the lawsuit states. “The government’s actions are unlawful for other equally clear and pernicious reasons. They disregard the government’s own regulations—under which Harvard should remain certified to host F-1 and J-1 visa holders.”
The lawsuit further alleges that DHS departed from “decades of settled practice and come without rational explanation. And they were carried out abruptly without any of the robust procedures the government has established to prevent just this type of upheaval to thousands of students’ lives.”
