The measure announced by the Trump administration on Thursday was denounced by the Ivy League, which brings together eight of the most prestigious, oldest, and most prestigious universities in the United States and the world, as unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House's political demands.
Boston District Judge Allison Burrows ordered a temporary stay of a decision sent by the US Department of Homeland Security to Harvard on Thursday regarding international student admissions, "until additional information and documentation regarding this process is provided."
The decision comes after Harvard University filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its ban on accepting international students.
In a complaint filed in federal court in Boston, Harvard, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, described the measure as a "blatant violation" of the U.S. Constitution and other federal laws.
She noted that Trump's decision had an "immediate and dire impact" on the university and its more than 7,000 visa holders, saying, "With the stroke of a pen, the government sought to expel a quarter of the university's student body, international students who have made significant contributions to the university and its mission."
She added: "This is the latest action by the government in apparent retaliation against Harvard University for exercising its First Amendment rights to refuse government demands to control the university's administration, curriculum, and the ideology of its faculty and students."
On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued an order terminating the accreditation of Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program, effective for the 2025-2026 academic year, accusing Harvard of "inciting violence and anti-Semitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party."
Harvard has enrolled approximately 6,800 international students in its current academic year, representing 27% of the total student body, according to university statistics.
The 389-year-old university indicated that the decision would force it to withdraw thousands of students and disrupt countless academic programs, clinics, courses, and research labs just days before graduation. The university emphasized, "Harvard wouldn't be Harvard without its international students."
In April 2024, pro-Palestine protests erupted at Columbia University in the United States and spread to more than 50 universities across the country. Police detained more than 3,100 people, most of them students and faculty members.
