US Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump’s Harvard Entry Ban On Foreign Students

Last Updated:June 06, 2025, 12:53 IST

The lawsuit claims the Trump administration’s national security justification for the proclamation is a pretext for a “governmental vendetta” against Harvard.

A judge has temporarily halted a rule that would have suspended new international student visas at Harvard University, just hours after Harvard filed a new lawsuit against the rule.

This comes after the university, on June 5, 2025, filed an amended lawsuit in a federal court seeking immediate judicial intervention to halt the enforcement of the proclamation following US President Donald Trump’s proclamation suspending the entry of new international students to Harvard under F, M, or J visas.

Harvard’s new lawsuit expands on a previous case against the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict foreign student enrollment. A federal judge had already issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the Department of Homeland Security from revoking Harvard’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

The updated lawsuit claims the new proclamation is an attempt to bypass the court’s previous ruling and unfairly targets Harvard with unlawful restrictions.

Harvard’s lawyers argue the proclamation violates the First Amendment by threatening academic freedom and the rights of the university and its students. The lawsuit highlights that international students, making up 27 per cent of Harvard’s student body, are crucial to the institution’s mission and intellectual life.

“Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard,” the complaint states, highlighting the irreparable harm the university would face if the proclamation were allowed to stand.

The lawsuit claims the Trump administration’s national security justification for the proclamation is a pretext for a “governmental vendetta” against Harvard. It argues the proclamation fails to identify a specific group of foreigners whose entry would harm US interests, as required by law. Instead, it singles out Harvard students for exclusion, while other international students may still enter the US to attend other universities.

Harvard is asking Judge Allison Burroughs to expand her previous restraining order to block the new proclamation as well, effectively preventing its enforcement while the lawsuit moves forward.

Harvard President Alan Garber wrote to the community, denouncing the administration’s actions as “illegal” and “retaliatory.” He assured students and faculty that the university is working to ensure international students can continue their studies and research at Harvard.

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