Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over Foreign Student Ban

Harvard University has filed multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked its Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, barring the institution from enrolling new international students and threatening the legal status of current foreign students. The administration justified its actions by accusing Harvard of fostering violence, antisemitism, and collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party, allegations Harvard strongly denies, calling the revocation an unconstitutional retaliation violating the First Amendment and Due Process Clause. Harvard's lawsuit emphasizes that this move would immediately and severely impact more than 7,000 international visa holders, representing about a quarter of the university's student body, and threatens the university's mission and diversity. Harvard President Alan Garber condemned the administration's actions as unlawful and warned that it imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars while affirming the university's commitment to its core principles and anti-antisemitism efforts. The university is seeking a temporary restraining order to block DHS from enforcing the directive and has criticized the administration's demands for foreign student data as excessive and unfulfilled despite compliance efforts. This dispute highlights ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and Ivy League universities over governance, curriculum, and political pressures.