A US District Court Judge has ordered the federal government not to make any permanent changes to Harvard University’s student visa program.
Judge Allison Burroughs issued a preliminary injunction Thursday morning as Harvard University lawyers squared off with the Trump administration in a Boston federal courtroom over the government’s attempt to prevent the prestigious school from admitting international students.
“I want to maintain the status quo,” in allowing the school to resume accepting foreign students and visa holders, Burroughs said, telling the sides to hash out an agreement to temporarily halt the freeze on Harvard’s student visa program, CNN reports.
“It doesn’t need to be draconian, but I want to make sure it’s worded in such a way that nothing changes,” she said, with Harvard’s lead attorney Ian Gershengorn telling the judge he doesn’t want any “shenanigans” to take place once the order is set.
Hours before the pitched battle got underway, the administration filed a legal notice giving Harvard 30 days to make its case to remain eligible to enroll foreign visa holders through the Student and Exchange Visitor’s Program.
President Trump said Wednesday that the Cambridge university should reduce by half its number of international students to make Harvard “great again” – suggesting a cap of 15% instead of the 27.2% currently on the rolls.
“We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools, [but] they can’t get in because we have foreign students there,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Wednesday.
Trump has also threatened to strip the university of some $3.3 billion in federal grants if it fails to comply with a list of demands aimed at curbing campus antisemitism, floating the idea of shifting the funds to trade schools instead.
The hearing unfolded just six miles away from the school’s 2025 commencement ceremony, where university president Alan Garber – who has vowed to “stand firm” in the fight with the administration – took the stage to thunderous applause as he welcomed the nearly 32,000 people packing Harvard Yard.
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