President Trump claimed he could reach a “deal” to end his disputes with the Ivy League university in a matter of days, but a federal judge on Friday prevented the Trump administration from cancelling Harvard University’s admission of foreign students.
The government is prohibited from denying Harvard access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a federal database that records student visa applications, by the preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs. The judge from Boston had already issued a temporary restraining order to halt the policy.
Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social minutes later on Friday that his administration has been “working closely with Harvard, and it is very possible that a Deal will be announced over the next week or so.”
“They have acted extremely appropriately during these negotiations, and appear to be committed to doing what is right,” according to the president. “If a Settlement is made on the basis that is currently being discussed, it will be “mindbogglingly” HISTORIC, and very good for our Country.”
Mr. Trump did not elaborate on the settlement negotiations.
In May, the Department of Homeland Security informed Harvard that it was rescinding its certification for the student visa system, claiming that “it is a privilege to enrol foreign students” and that the university “lost this privilege” by allegedly failing to address antisemitism on campus.
Burroughs agreed with Harvard, which promptly filed a lawsuit, claiming the school was being punished for opposing the political agenda of the administration.
Earlier this month, Mr. Trump issued a second order that prohibited the majority of foreign students from travelling to the United States to attend Harvard. Burroughs stopped that action two weeks ago, but her decision on Friday didn’t deal with Mr. Trump’s directive.
“The Court order allows Harvard to continue enrolling international students and scholars while the case moves forward,” a Harvard spokesperson stated in response to the judge’s decision on Friday. Harvard will keep up its defence of its rights as well as those of its scholars and students.
According to a statement from DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, Burroughs’ decision is “in direct conflict with the President’s constitutionally vested powers under Article II and those granted by federal law.”
“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments.
The Trump administration is committed to restoring common sense to our student visa system; no lawsuit, this or any other, is going to change that,” McLaughlin stated.
Related Story: Harvard Prohibited from Admitting Foreign Students Under Trump Rule
Since around one in four Harvard students are foreign-born, the competition for international students might have serious repercussions for the university.
Last month, Mr. Trump proposed that Harvard set a 15% ceiling on the number of international students it admits and provide the government with additional data so it can assess if potential students are “troublemakers.”
Additionally, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has mandated “additional vetting” for all foreign visitors to Harvard, including personnel, faculty, students, visitors, and guest speakers.
It’s a part of a larger back and forth between the Trump administration and Harvard. To preserve its “financial relationship” with the government, the administration pressured the institution to implement a number of policy changes in April.
These included ending diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and requiring external audits of certain academic departments. The government threatened to stop giving Harvard billions of dollars in grants when the school refused.
Related Story: Trump Administration Blocks Visas for Incoming Harvard International Students
Similar pressure has been applied to other colleges, with calls for grant freezes and policy changes that frequently focus on how the institutions handle pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Guidelines for screening student visa applicants’ social media accounts were released earlier this week by the State Department, which instructed employees to search for indications of “hostility” against the United States.
Additionally, some foreign students who are already in the United States have come under investigation. Several students, including Rumeysa Ozturk from Tufts and Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi from Columbia, have been arrested by authorities in connection with pro-Palestinian activities.
Since then, Mahdawi and Ozturk have been freed, and on Friday, a judge issued an order releasing Khalil.
