A federal judge in Boston sided with Harvard University on Friday and blocked a Trump administration effort to rescind the school’s right to host international students.
The government’s moves against Harvard have thrown the lives of thousands of visiting scholars into temporary disarray. But Friday’s ruling by Judge Allison D. Burroughs allows Harvard’s longstanding participation in the Student and Visitor Exchange Program to continue, at least for now.
The administration had sought to exclude the school from that program, which allows 7,000 Harvard students and recent graduates to study and work legally in the United States.
In a three-page preliminary injunction, Judge Burroughs said the government was forbidden from “implementing, instituting, maintaining, or giving any force or effect” to the Department of Homeland Security’s push last month to force Harvard out of the international student program.
The judge also ruled that the government had to tell American diplomatic posts and ports of entry to “disregard” instructions to restrict Harvard’s participation.
In a statement on Friday, a Harvard spokesman said the university would “continue to defend its rights — and the rights of its students and scholars.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a post on social media, President Trump claimed that U.S. officials had been “working closely with Harvard, and it is very possible that a Deal will be announced over the next week or so.”
The university, the president said, had “acted extremely appropriately during these negotiations” and appeared “to be committed to doing what is right.” He added: “If a Settlement is made on the basis that is currently being discussed, it will be ‘mindbogglingly’ HISTORIC, and very good for our Country.”
Harvard did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Mr. Trump’s assertions.
The Trump administration and Harvard have been at sharp odds for months, clashing over accusations of antisemitism and racism as the government pulled billions of dollars in research funding from Harvard, the nation’s oldest and richest university. The school has separately challenged those matters in federal court. Judge Burroughs is overseeing that litigation, too.
The university has accused the administration of pursuing a vendetta and seeking to compromise its independence. The administration says that Harvard has harbored antisemitism and not disclosed information that it should about its international students.
The dispute over international students erupted on May 22, when the Homeland Security Department said it was rescinding Harvard’s right to participate in the exchange visitor program. That kind of action had generally been taken by the government only against diploma mills that were improperly arranging for would-be immigrants to enter the country on student visas.
But Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said the action was necessary because Harvard had failed to comply with requests for information on misconduct by the university’s international students — a charge Harvard denied.
The university sued, and Judge Burroughs temporarily blocked enforcement of the Trump administration’s order. A week later, Ms. Noem’s department served Harvard with another, similar notice of revocation.
In court, Judge Burroughs suggested that the second action constituted an acknowledgment by government lawyers that the administration had not followed proper procedures in its May 22 action.
Faced with Judge Burroughs’s resistance, the Trump administration then issued what Harvard lawyers have described as an “end run” to get around her: a proclamation by President Trump. Judge Burroughs quickly blocked that effort, too.
Judge Burroughs did not explicitly address Mr. Trump’s proclamation in her order on Friday. She did, however, order the government not to give “effect to any suspension, withdrawal, revocation, termination, or other alteration” of Harvard’s status without following procedures outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations. She gave the government 72 hours to describe “the steps taken to ensure compliance” with Friday’s order.
But Judge Burroughs did not shield Harvard from indefinite scrutiny. Rather, she said, the government could still review the university’s compliance with federal regulations and send “routine requests for information and documents” as a part of such an examination.
Faculty members at Harvard have said that any loss of international students could be devastating to the university, long known as a destination for some of the world’s brightest students, visiting scholars and researchers.
In court documents, university officials have described a “palpable sense of fear, confusion, and uncertainty on Harvard’s campus about the future of its international students” as well as worldwide travel disruptions affecting international students in the wake of the administration’s orders.
One student arriving at Logan International Airport in Boston was forced to return to India, and another was forced to go back to China, according to Harvard officials. Visas were denied to two students in Munich, they said, and in Tel Aviv, a visiting professor’s visa appointment was canceled. He has not been able to reschedule it.
Harvard has been flooded with inquiries from incoming international students about deferring their enrollment, school officials have said. At least one student who was admitted to Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health has decided to withdraw, despite holding a valid visa, because of the uncertainty, Harvard officials have said. A sponsor withdrew a $50,000 grant to an incoming law student.
Stephanie Saul reports on colleges and universities, with a recent focus on the dramatic changes in college admissions and the debate around diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.
Alan Blinder is a national correspondent for The Times, covering education.
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