Harvard Secures Extension on Court Ruling Against Trump’s Student Ban

A federal judge announced on Monday that she would extend a ruling that temporarily prevents President Donald Trump from executing his plan to deny entry to foreign students at Harvard University. This extension will allow Judge Allison Burroughs sufficient time to consider whether to issue a more permanent injunction.

During a hearing in Boston regarding Harvard’s legal challenge to these restrictions, Judge Burroughs extended the temporary restraining order to June 23, which was originally set to expire on Thursday. She expressed the need for more time to formulate her decision.

“We will issue a decision as soon as possible,” she commented.

Harvard’s attorney Ian Gershengorn emphasized the necessity of an injunction to prevent the Trump administration from carrying out its recent measures that could restrict international students from attending the university.

The judge scheduled this hearing after she had issued a temporary restraining order on June 6, blocking the administration from implementing a proclamation Trump had signed a day prior. A preliminary injunction would grant Harvard longer-term protection.

Gershengorn argued that the proclamation signed by Trump was a retaliatory move against Harvard for refusing to comply with the administration’s requests about the school’s governance, curriculum, and the ideological stance of its faculty and students, thereby infringing on the university’s First Amendment rights.

“This proclamation blatantly violates the First Amendment,” he stated.

In the most recent academic year, nearly 6,800 international students were enrolled at Harvard, which constitutes approximately 27% of the university’s total student body. The largest groups of these students are from China and India.

The Trump administration has launched multiple attacks against Harvard, including freezing billions in grants and other funding, and proposing to revoke its tax-exempt status, leading to several legal challenges.

Harvard has filed two lawsuits in front of Judge Burroughs, aiming to unfreeze $2.5 billion in funding and prevent the administration from restricting the enrollment of international students.

On May 22, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the immediate revocation of Harvard’s certification for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which allows the university to enroll foreign students. However, this action was quickly blocked by Judge Burroughs. The Department of Homeland Security has since opted for a lengthier administrative process to contest Harvard’s certification, and Burroughs indicated on May 29 her intention to issue a broad injunction to uphold the current situation.

Just a week later, Trump signed the proclamation, citing national security issues as justification for claiming that Harvard was “no longer a reliable steward of international student and exchange visitor programs.”

This proclamation banned foreign nationals from studying at Harvard or participating in exchange programs for an initial period of six months, and directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to consider revoking visas for current international students at the university.

Harvard, which is led by an appointee of former President Barack Obama, has requested that Burroughs block Trump’s directive.

The U.S. Justice Department urged Judge Burroughs to separate Trump’s proclamation from her evaluations regarding Secretary Noem’s actions, arguing that it does not apply to existing students and that Trump relied on a different legal basis for his order.