Judge blocks Trump’s ban on Harvard’s foreign students, citing ‘irreparable injury’ to university: Report

Harvard wins reprieve from Trump’s foreign student ban

A US District Judge has ruled that the Trump administration cannot enforce the President’s proclamation targeting foreign students, according to Bloomberg, marking a temporary reprieve in Trump’s escalating feud with Harvard University.

The Boston-based judge granted a temporary restraining order, saying Harvard would face “immediate and irreparable injury” if the proclamation went into effect.

The decision delivers a legal setback for the administration in its high-profile dispute with the university over the entry of international students into the United States.

District Judge Allison Burroughs made the ruling after Harvard updated a May 23 lawsuit against a separate US order that aimed to stop the university from enrolling international students. She had already blocked that earlier attempt.

In the proclamation issued Wednesday, President Trump claimed that Harvard’s failure to share information on alleged misconduct by international students presented a national security threat. His executive order barred foreign students and researchers affiliated with Harvard from entering the U.S. The administration had already withdrawn the university’s authority to sponsor their visas the previous month.

Harvard President Alan Garber had urged the judge to act swiftly.

“While the court considers our request, contingency plans are being developed to ensure that international students and scholars can continue to pursue their work at Harvard this summer and through the coming academic year,” said in a statement just after the university amended its lawsuit in Boston federal court.

Judge Burroughs had previously halted the government's attempt to remove Harvard from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program overseen by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Her latest decision raises the possibility that the dispute could be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 2018 ruling, the Court upheld a presidential travel ban targeting several predominantly Muslim nations affirming broad executive power over immigration and entry restrictions in a narrow 5-4 decision.

(With Bloomberg inputs)