U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs, nominated by former President Barack Obama, has blocked the Trump administration from making any changes to the foreign student visa program.
President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security and State Department are seeking to pause foreign student visas under a new policy intended to vet international students for Harvard's alleged bias against conservatives and of fostering antisemitism on its campus.
"I want to maintain the status quo," Burroughs said during a Boston hearing Thursday, CNN reported.
Harvard sued DHS on Friday after Secretary Kristi Noem revoked its ability to host foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Trump administration announced a new effort Thursday to revoke Harvard's certification to enroll foreign students. In a letter sent by the acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, Todd Lyons, the government gave Harvard 30 days to respond to the alleged grounds for withdrawal, which include accusations that Harvard coordinated with foreign entities and failed to respond sufficiently to antisemitism on campus.
The dispute over international enrollment at Harvard is the latest escalation in a battle between the White House and the nation's oldest and wealthiest college.
In April, Noem sent a letter to the school, demanding a range of records related to foreign students, including discipline records and anything related to "dangerous or violent activity." Noem said it was in response to accusations of antisemitism on Harvard's campus.
Harvard said it complied, but Noem sent a May 22 letter saying the school's response fell short. She said Harvard was being pulled from the federal program that allows colleges to sponsor international students to get U.S. visas. It took effect immediately and prevented Harvard from hosting foreign students in the upcoming school year.
In its lawsuit, Harvard argued the government failed to follow administrative procedures and regulations that dictate how schools may be removed from eligibility to host international students, which including giving schools the opportunity to appeal and a 30-day window to respond. Wednesday's notice is in line with those regulations.
Already, despite the restraining order, the Trump administration's efforts to stop Harvard from enrolling international students have created an environment of "profound fear, concern, and confusion," the university's director of immigration services wrote in a court filing Wednesday.
Immigration Services Director Maureen Martin wrote in the filing that countless international students had asked about transferring, and some domestic students had expressed interest in transferring or deferring because they believed their educational experience would not be the same without an international student body.
Martin said international Harvard students arriving in Boston were sent to additional screening by Customs and Border Protection agents, and international students seeking to obtain their visas were being denied or facing delays at consulates and embassies.
The sanction, if allowed to proceed, could upend some graduate schools that recruit heavily from abroad. Among those at risk was Belgium's Princess Elisabeth, who just finished her first year in a Harvard graduate program. Some schools overseas quickly offered invitations to Harvard's students, including two universities in Hong Kong.
Trump railed against Harvard on social media after Burroughs temporarily halted the action last week, saying that "the best thing Harvard has going for it is that they have shopped around and found the absolute best Judge (for them!) – But have no fear, the Government will, in the end, WIN!"
The Trump administration has levied a range of grievances against Harvard, accusing it of being a hotbed of liberalism and failing to protect Jewish students from harassment. The government is demanding changes to Harvard's governance and policies to bring it in line with the president's vision.
Harvard was the first university to reject the government's demands, saying it threatened the autonomy that has long made U.S. higher education a magnet for the world's top scholars. In a pair of lawsuits, Harvard accuses the government of retaliating against the university for rebuffing political demands.
Information from The Associated Press was used to compile this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.