US judge extends block on Trump administration’s Harvard foreign student ban

WASHINGTON

A federal judge on Thursday extended a temporary order blocking the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University's certification to enroll international students, according to reports.

A letter attached to a court filing late Wednesday said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is requesting the school “submit sworn statements and documentary or other evidence to rebut the grounds for withdrawal of certification," NBC News reported.

The decision came after the Trump administration gave Harvard 30 days on Thursday to challenge the government’s move to ban the school from enrolling international students.

“Following our letter to Harvard, the school attempted to claim it now wishes to comply with SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) standards,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X. “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.”

In a notice filed Wednesday by the SEVP, DHS said the university “failed” to comply with federal regulatory requirements and provided “insufficient” responses to multiple requests for information about student misconduct.

It alleges Harvard failed “to maintain a campus environment free from violence and antisemitism,” referencing a report that Jewish students faced “pervasive insults, physical assault, and intimidation, with no meaningful response from Harvard University’s leadership.”

Additionally, the filing states that Harvard's alleged engagements with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and “foreign entities adverse to national security” raise “serious concerns.” It notes the university hosted members of a CCP-linked group “complicit in the Uyghur genocide” and conducted joint research “using U.S. Department of Defense funds.”

Failure by Harvard to respond will “bar an appeal” to the ban of the school from enrolling international students, according to the filing.

Harvard has denied the allegations.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Harvard should cap foreign student admissions at 15%, calling some international students “troublemakers” and “radical people.”

WASHINGTON

A federal judge on Thursday extended a temporary order blocking the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University's certification to enroll international students, according to reports.

The decision came after the Trump administration gave Harvard 30 days on Thursday to challenge the government’s move to ban the school from enrolling international students.

Failure by Harvard to respond will “bar an appeal” to the ban of the school from enrolling international students, according to the filing.

Harvard has denied the allegations.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Harvard should cap foreign student admissions at 15%, calling some international students “troublemakers” and “radical people.”