Harvard University has launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration's decision to stop the institution from enrolling international students, arguing the move is unconstitutional and retaliatory.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday in a Boston federal court, alleges the government's action breaches the First Amendment and will have a "devastating effect" on Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.
Harvard's legal action contends the administration's decision effectively "erase[s] a quarter of Harvard’s student body," compromising the university's identity and mission.
The university emphasized the significant contributions of its international students, saying: "Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard."
It is seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from implementing the ban.
The Trump administration’s move has thrown campus into disarray days before graduation, Harvard said in the suit.
International students who run labs, teach courses, assist professors and participate in Harvard sports are now left deciding whether to transfer or risk losing legal status to stay in the country, according to the filing.
The impact is heaviest at graduate schools such as the Harvard Kennedy School, where almost half the student body comes from abroad, and Harvard Business School, which is made up of about one-third international students.
Along with its impact on current students, the move blocks thousands of students who were planning to come for classes in the summer and fall.
The Ivy League school says it is now at a disadvantage as it competes for the world's top students. Even if it regains the ability to host students, “future applicants may shy away from applying out of fear of further reprisals from the government,” the suit said.
If the government's action stands, Harvard said, the university would be unable to offer admission to new international students for at least the next two academic years.
Schools that have that certification withdrawn by the federal government are ineligible to reapply until one year afterward, Harvard said.
Harvard enrolls almost 6,800 foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Most are graduate students and they come from more than 100 countries.
The department announced the action on Thursday, accusing Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus.
It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, contending the school had hosted and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024.
Harvard President Alan Garber said earlier in May the university has made changes to its governance over the past year and a half, including a broad strategy to combat antisemitism.
He said Harvard would not budge on its “its core, legally- protected principles” over fears of retaliation.
Harvard has said it will respond at a later time to allegations first raised by House Republicans about coordination with the Chinese Communist Party.
The threat to Harvard’s international enrollment stems from a 16 April request from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who demanded that Harvard provide information about foreign students that might implicate them in violence or protests that could lead to their deportation.
Noem said Harvard can regain its ability to host foreign students if it produces a trove of records on foreign students within 72 hours.
Her updated request demands all records, including audio or video footage, of foreign students participating in protests or dangerous activity on campus.
The suit is separate from the university’s earlier one challenging more than $2 billion in federal cuts imposed by the Republican administration.
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