4 hours ago
2
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
The decision came after a hearing where a lawyer for Harvard accused the Trump administration of McCarthy-like tactics and irregular and improper treatment.
June 20, 2025Updated 4:21 p.m. ET
A federal judge in Boston sided with Harvard University on Friday and blocked a Trump administration effort to rescind the school’s right to host international students.
The government’s moves against Harvard have thrown the lives of thousands of visiting scholars into temporary disarray. But Friday’s ruling by Judge Allison D. Burroughs allows Harvard’s longstanding participation in the Student and Visitor Exchange Program to continue, at least for now.
The administration had sought to exclude the school from that program, which allows 7,000 Harvard students and recent graduates to study and work legally in the United States.
In a three-page preliminary injunction, Judge Burroughs said the government was forbidden from “implementing, instituting, maintaining, or giving any force or effect” to the Department of Homeland Security’s push last month to force Harvard out of the international student program.
The judge also ruled that the government had to tell American diplomatic posts and ports of entry to “disregard” instructions to restrict Harvard’s participation.
The White House, the Department of Homeland Security and Harvard did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
