US judge blocks Trump administration from revoking Harvard enrolment of foreign students
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In a complaint filed in Boston federal court on May 23, Harvard University called the revocation a “blatant violation” of the US Constitution and other federal laws.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BOSTON – A US judge on May 23 blocked the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University’s ability to enrol foreign students, a move that ratcheted up White House efforts to have practices in academia conform with President Donald Trump’s policies.
In a complaint filed in Boston federal court earlier on May 23, Harvard called the revocation a “blatant violation” of the US Constitution and other federal laws, and had an “immediate and devastating effect” on the university and more than 7,000 visa holders.
“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,” Harvard said.
“Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard,” the 389-year-old school added.
US District Judge Allison Burroughs, an appointee of Democratic former president Barack Obama, issued the temporary restraining order freezing the policy.
Mr Trump’s pressure on Harvard is part of the Republican’s broader campaign to compel universities, law firms, news media, courts and other institutions that value independence from partisan politics to align with his agenda.
The campaign has included efforts to deport foreign students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests but committed no crimes, retaliate against law firms that employ lawyers who have challenged Mr Trump, and a suggestion by Mr Trump to impeach a judge for an immigration ruling the President did not like.
Harvard, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has pushed back hard against Mr Trump, having previously sued to restore some US$3 billion (S$3.9 billion) in federal grants that had been frozen or cancelled.
Law firms including WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey have also sued, while US Chief Justice John Roberts said impeaching judges is not an appropriate response to disagreement with their rulings.
Some institutions have made concessions to Mr Trump.
Columbia University agreed to reform disciplinary processes
Meanwhile, law firms such as Paul, Weiss and Skadden Arps agreed to provide free legal services to causes Mr Trump supports.
In a statement before District Judge Burroughs’ ruling, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson dismissed the lawsuit.
“If only Harvard cared this much about ending the scourge of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators on their campus, they wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with,” Ms Jackson said.
“Harvard should spend their time and resources on creating a safe campus environment instead of filing frivolous lawsuits,” she added.
The termination of Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Programme certification
She said the termination was justified because of Harvard’s “fostering violence, anti-Semitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party”.
On May 22, Ms Noem said Harvard could restore its certification by turning over within 72 hours a raft of records about international students, including video or audio of their protest activity in the past five years.
In a letter to Harvard, which was attached to the complaint, Ms Noem said the information was needed because the university had “created a hostile learning environment for Jewish students due to Harvard’s failure to condemn anti-Semitism”.
Harvard defends ‘refusal to surrender’
Homeland Security’s justification is “the quintessence of arbitrariness”, Harvard said in its complaint.
In a letter to the Harvard community on May 23, Harvard president Alan Garber condemned the administration’s actions and said the university responded to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requests as required by law.
“The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government’s illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body,” he wrote.
Harvard enrolled nearly 6,800 international students in its current school year, equal to 27 per cent of total enrolment. Among them, 151 are from Singapore.
In its complaint, Harvard said the revocation would force it to retract admissions for thousands of people.
The revocation has also thrown “countless” academic programmes, clinics, courses and research laboratories into disarray, just a few days before graduation.
Harvard called the revocation “unlawful many times over”, saying the government violates the First Amendment by using coercion to police private speech, and forcing universities to surrender their academic freedom.
The revocation could also weigh on Harvard’s finances. At many US universities, international students are more likely to pay full tuition, essentially subsidising aid for other students.
“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enrol foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Harvard’s bonds, part of its US$8.2 billion debt pile, have been falling since Mr Trump first warned US universities in March of cuts to federal funding.
International students enrolled at Harvard include Ms Cleo Carney, daughter of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and Princess Elisabeth, first in line to the Belgian throne. REUTERS
