TMTPOST -- A U.S. federal judge on Thursday revealed further steps to block the Trump administration’s order to strip Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students.
Credit：Xinhua News Agency
Judge Allison Burroughs for the District Court of Massachusetts extended a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) blocking the Trump administration’s ban on Harvard’ enrollment of foreign students. During a court hearing on the administration’s order to revoke Harvard’s ability to enroll students and scholars on international visas, Burroughs said she would leave the TRO in place until a longer-term hold, known as a preliminary injunction, to be issued.
The preliminary injunction would stand while the case played out in court, though Burroughs didn’t reveal the issuance date of a formal injunction or relevant timetable.
The judge granted the TRO on May, a day after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered to terminate Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification, which allows the Ivy League member to enroll foreign students. The TRO is justified to preserve the status quo pending a hearing on Thursday.
Burrough’s move came shortly after the Trump administration appeared to walk back its ban forcing more than a quarter of the school’s student body to transfer or lose their legal status in the U.S.
In a court filling revealed on Thursday, Justice Department attorneys informed a federal judge that the DHS had issued a formal “Notice of Intent to Withdraw” to give Harvard 30 calendar days from May 28, Wednesday, to respond to the notice and contest the DHS’s revocation of certification. Harvard thus effectively has been given a 30-day reprieve.
Judge Burrough believed the 30-day reprieve does not eliminate the need for a court order barring the Trump administration's efforts to ban Harvard from enrolling international students.
“I know you don’t think an order is necessary, but I do think an order is necessary,” the judge said during the hearing. ”I don’t think it needs to be draconian, but I want to make sure that nothing changes.”
The DHS is asking Harvard to submit sworn statements and documentary or other evidence to rebut the grounds for withdrawal of certification under SEVP, according to the filling.
Noem posted screenshots of the notice to Harvard on X Thursday and wrote "Harvard’s refusal to comply with SEVP oversight was the latest evidence that it disdains the American people and takes for granted U.S. taxpayer benefits."
"Following our letter to Harvard, the school attempted to claim it now wishes to comply with SEVP standards," Noem said. "We continue to reject Harvard’s repeated pattern of endangering its students and spreading American hate — it must change its ways in order to participate in American programs."
Harvard spokesperson Sarah Kennedy-O’Reilly said Judge Burrough's decision will allow the school to "continue enrolling international students and scholars while the case moves forward."
"Harvard will continue to take steps to protect the rights of our international students and scholars, members of our community who are vital to the University’s academic mission and community — and whose presence here benefits our country immeasurably," she said.
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