Trump is down but not out in court battle over Harvard's foreign student visas

A national justice upheld a tribunal bid blocking President Donald Trump from stripping Harvard University of its quality to sponsor planetary pupil visas. 

U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs connected Thursday extended her earlier restraining order, which blocks the Trump medication from revoking Harvard’s certification nether the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, oregon SEVP. That certification allows colleges to sponsor planetary students for U.S. visas during their enrollment.

Burroughs, an Obama appointee, said she would sphere the presumption quo portion some sides confer and taxable either a associated projected preliminary injunction bid oregon idiosyncratic projected orders.

But the update from the tribunal is not a nonaccomplishment for the Trump medication — astatine slightest not yet. 

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Banners astatine the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library connected the Harvard University field successful Cambridge, Mass., May 27, 2025. (Sophie Park/Bloomberg)

At contented is whether the Trump medication has grounds to revoke Harvard's SEVP certification. Trump officials have accused Harvard University of "fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party connected its campus," according to a connection from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

Legal experts told Fox News Digital that overseas students person acold less protections than U.S. citizens, which puts Harvard astatine the government's mercy arsenic agelong arsenic the Trump medication satisfies definite procedural requirements. 

Experts noted that the SEVP programme falls squarely nether the authorization of DHS and ICE, giving the Trump medication wide discretion to certify, widen oregon revoke a university’s information based connected the behaviour of its overseas pupil visa holders.

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While U.S. citizens person First Amendment protected escaped code rights, the aforesaid is not existent for overseas students studying successful the U.S., whose presumption is sponsored by their university. 

The intersection "of First Amendment [issues] with migration law, astatine slightest to this extent, has truly go a caller happening nether this administration," Robert Shibley, the peculiar counsel for field advocacy astatine the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told Fox News Digital. 

"Part of the complication present is that the authorities does person truthful overmuch much leeway connected overseas argumentation issues," Shibley said. "However, I deliberation successful this case, there's a beauteous wide process laid retired successful the regulations for stripping a schoolhouse of its quality to get overseas students to be connected visas — and simply demanding a definite magnitude of accusation from the schoolhouse and stripping them immediately, which is what they primitively said, not the process."

Demonstrators stitchery connected Cambridge Common to protestation Harvard's stance connected the warfare successful Gaza and amusement enactment for the Palestinian radical extracurricular Harvard University successful Cambridge, Mass., April 25, 2025.  (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

Shortly aft tribunal adjourned Thursday, the Trump medication gave Harvard 30 days to taxable grounds and reason wherefore its SEVP certification should not beryllium revoked. It’s unclear whether that unsocial satisfies procedural requirements nether the Administrative Procedure Act.

The tribunal indispensable besides see what benignant of behaviour overseas pupil visa holders are engaged successful and whether these pupil visa holders are "systemically" engaged successful serial violations of migration instrumentality oregon are acting successful enactment of overseas violent organizations, alleged overseas violent organizations oregon overseas totalitarian governments. 

"That gives DHS involvement to analyse and reevaluate connected an off-cycle basis, the SEVP certification and eligibility," said Aram Gavoor, an subordinate dean astatine George Washington University Law School and a erstwhile Justice Department attorney. In this case, helium said, DHS would person "significant authorities to authorize, regulate, certify and, if necessary, decertify, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program."

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"And, successful a fig of circumstances, the quality of a assemblage to run its ain acquisition instauration with what it teaches and however it teaches that tin — successful definite circumstances — travel into hostility with the authorization of the U.S. authorities to modulate migration successful the discourse of pupil speech visitors," Gavoor added. 

Lawyers for Harvard told the tribunal that, if enacted, the revocation of its SEVP programme would impact astir 7,000 planetary students astatine the schoolhouse astatine the undergraduate and post-graduate level, causing irreparable harm. They besides claimed the enactment was a breach of administrative procedure, which requires the medication to assistance a definite play of announcement earlier revoking their SEVP credentials. 

"The revocation continues a bid of authorities actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our world independence," Harvard University President Alan Garber said Friday successful a missive to the Harvard community.

In the abbreviated term, the uncertainty could pb overseas students successful the visa programme to fly Harvard, seeking transfers to different universities that are not targeted by the Trump administration, experts told Fox News. 

Harvard President Alan Garber acknowledges an extended circular of applause during Harvard University's commencement ceremonies Thursday, May 29, 2025 successful Cambridge, Mass.  (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Student visa holders are fixed astir 180 days aft their presumption is revoked to permission the state oregon hazard violating the law, making the lawsuit of utmost value for thousands of students.

Legal experts noted the court is wading into mostly uncharted territory. Asked however it mightiness play out, galore scholars pointed to a deficiency of precedent and offered nary wide answer.

"As with galore things that Trump does, the reply is unclear, due to the fact that it hasn't been done before," Josh Blackman, a instrumentality prof astatine South Texas College of Law, said. "No president has tried to bash this before, truthful I don't deliberation there's a wide precedent connected the answer.

"What I'll accidental is this: Trump has fundamentally accused Harvard of being a beforehand for coercion and emboldening terrorism," helium added. "And I deliberation what they're trying to bash is find if this instauration tin fundamentally exist."

This was echoed by Gavoor, who said things request to play retired betwixt the Trump medication and Harvard earlier the tribunal tin decently determine if the authorities followed the law. 

"I deliberation Harvard does request to comply with the off-cycle reappraisal of DHS's SEVP certification," Gavoor said. 

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At the aforesaid time, helium said, adjacent if the Trump medication loses connected the merits of this case, "there's a constituent to beryllium argued that it whitethorn person won arsenic a relation of policy," helium said.

"That's due to the fact that it simply creates a chilling effect for students who would different beryllium attending oregon use to Harvard University to beryllium little inclined to bash truthful oregon [causes them] to marque alternate plans for their acquisition In the U.S."