The Trump administration said on Friday that it would appeal a district court judge’s order blocking a proclamation that seeks to bar international students from attending Harvard.
The notice of appeal, filed in federal court in Boston, further escalates a fight that started in May between the administration and Harvard over the enrollment of international students.
The fight continued this month with an unusual White House proclamation on June 4, which accused Harvard of “entanglements with foreign counties, including our adversaries.” The proclamation specifically referenced donations to Harvard from Chinese entities.
On Monday, Judge Allison D. Burroughs of the U.S. District Court in Boston blocked its enforcement, accusing the Trump administration in a strongly worded order of “misplaced efforts to control a reputable academic institution and squelch diverse viewpoints seemingly because they are, in some instances, opposed to this administration’s own views.”
She also chastised the government’s attempts “to accomplish this, at least in part, on the backs of international students, with little thought to the consequences to them or, ultimately, to our own citizens.”
Judge Burroughs’s order was set to remain in effect until Harvard’s lawsuit against the administration was resolved.
The Trump administration, in its fight with Harvard, had invoked a 70-year-old law intended to bar foreign enemies from the United States, suggesting that the university’s international enrollment posed a national security threat.
Judge Burroughs attacked the logic of the Trump administration’s argument as “absurd.”
Lawyers for the administration cited a Supreme Court case that upheld President Trump’s 2017 ban on visas for travelers from several majority Muslim countries.
Harvard, known for its global prestige and influence, hosts about 7,000 international students and scholars each year, including about 2,000 recent graduates. They make up about 25 percent of the student body.
While the case is being appealed, Harvard has said that it is developing contingency plans so that some international students may be able to study remotely, as they did during the pandemic, or at international locations.
The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard said this week that it was making arrangements to partner with the University of Toronto to host some students there.
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.
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