A federal judge has shut down Donald Trump’s push to force international students out of Harvard, ordering an immediate halt to the administration’s latest crackdown on higher education.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said she would block Trump officials from stripping Harvard’s right to host foreign students. The judge said she plans to issue a broad order that keeps the government from interfering with the university’s student visa program.
“I want to maintain the status quo,” Burroughs said in court. “It doesn’t need to be draconian, but I want to make sure it’s worded in such a way that nothing changes.”
The Trump administration had announced it was revoking Harvard’s certification to enroll international students — a move that would’ve forced more than 7,000 students to leave or transfer. Harvard immediately sued.
“With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,” the university wrote in its legal filing. “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”
The lawsuit accuses Trump of launching a “campaign of retribution” against the school. The move came just days after the administration threatened funding cuts over pro-Palestine protests on campus.
In a letter to the Harvard community, university president Dr. Alan M. Garber called the administration’s action “unlawful and unwarranted.”
“The Trump administration 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,” he wrote.
Homeland Security, in a letter to the school, claimed Harvard had allowed “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to harass Jewish students and disrupt campus life — a claim not backed by specific evidence in court.
At the White House, Trump defended his move.
“Harvard has to behave themselves,” he told reporters Wednesday. “Harvard is treating our country with great disrespect. And all they’re doing is getting in deeper and deeper and deeper.”
The judge didn’t buy it. She said Homeland Security and the State Department will be barred from making changes while the case moves forward.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered U.S. embassies and consulates to pause all student visa interviews. New rules are being prepared to expand background checks and social media vetting — especially for applicants linked to campus protests.
A State Department spokesperson claimed the changes are about “upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process.”
But for now, Judge Burroughs has delivered a clear message: Trump can’t use international students as political pawns.
