A federal judge indicated on Thursday that she would block the Trump administration’s effort to ban Harvard from enrolling international students, according to multiple reports.
U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs, an Obama appointee, said during a hearing that she would grant Harvard a preliminary injunction, per CBS News.
“I want to maintain the status quo,” Burroughs said during a hearing, according to the New York Times. “People are terrified.”
The Trump administration filed a notice ahead of the hearing indicating it would give Harvard 30 days to submit evidence disputing the grounds for the administration’s decision. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem accused Harvard’s leadership of “fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Today’s court decision allows the University to continue enrolling international students and scholars while the case moves forward,” a university spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Harvard will continue to take steps to protect the rights of our international students and scholars, members of our community who are vital to the University’s academic mission and community—and whose presence here benefits our country immeasurably.”
Burroughs temporarily blocked the administration on May 23 from revoking Harvard’s ability to enroll students under the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).
“The safety of American students is at risk because Harvard University has failed to maintain a campus environment free from violence and anti-Semitism,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said in a statement to the DCNF. “The Trump Administration – not liberal, unelected judges – has final say over whether or not universities receive SEVP certification. We are confident in the legality of our actions.”
Harvard’s refusal to comply with SEVP oversight was the latest evidence that it disdains the American people and takes for granted U.S. taxpayer benefits. Following our letter to Harvard, the school attempted to claim it now wishes to comply with SEVP standards.
We continue to… pic.twitter.com/6yg0roqqf5
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 29, 2025
Noem wrote on X Thursday morning that Harvard’s “refusal to comply with SEVP oversight was the latest evidence that it disdains the American people and takes for granted U.S. taxpayer benefits.”
“Following our letter to Harvard, the school attempted to claim it now wishes to comply with SEVP standards,” she wrote. “We continue to reject Harvard’s repeated pattern of endangering its students and spreading American hate—it must change its ways in order to participate in American programs.”
DHS and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comments from a Harvard spokesperson and the White House.
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