Updated May 29, 2025 at 3:44 PM EDT
A federal judge said that she would issue a preliminary injunction that would allow Harvard to continue enrolling international students — halting, at least for now, the Trump administration's efforts to ban the practice.
Lawyers from Harvard and the Trump administration were in a packed courtroom in Boston on Thursday for a hearing on the administration's attempt to revoke the school's ability to enroll students and scholars on international visas.
The move comes after the same judge, Allison D. Burroughs, granted a temporary restraining order last Friday.
"To me it represents some kind of temporary relief," said Ella Ricketts, a first-year international student at Harvard. She's set to start an internship soon, and had been worried that without a block, she wouldn't be able to. She said she was hesitant to mark this as a victory. "Obviously I remain optimistic and hopeful, but this is very much just one step in a much, much larger process."
Harvard has nearly 7,000 international students, which make up more than a quarter of the student body. More than 1.1 million international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities in the 2023-'24 school year. They do not qualify for federal financial aid, and so, for many colleges, represent a crucial financial lifeline.
Harvard's graduation ceremony was happening at the same time as the hearing. As part of the celebration, Harvard University President Alan Garber addressed the graduates with a nod to the ongoing lawsuit. "Welcome members of the class of 2025," he said, "members … from down the street, across the country and around the world. Around the world. Just as it should be." The comments were greeted with a standing ovation and roaring applause.
Before Thursday's hearing, lawyers for the Trump administration submitted court documents giving Harvard 30 days to contest the revocation of its ability to enroll international students. In court, attorneys for the federal government argued that an injunction was improper because it had given the school 30 days to respond. To that Burroughs responded, "I'd feel more comfortable if we had an order in place," and added that she wanted to give international students more certainty over their visa statuses.
According to court filings, Harvard's lawyers argue that Trump administration officials have a vendetta against the university, singling it out for its "speech, its perceived viewpoint, and its refusal to surrender its academic independence or relinquish its constitutional rights." The filings included social media posts from the president as evidence.
The Trump administration has argued that Harvard has "failed to maintain a campus environment free from violence and antisemitism" and accused the school of "coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party." It argues, therefore, that stripping the school of the ability to enroll international students is warranted. Harvard's president has acknowledged the school has had issues with antisemitism, and has outlined in letters to the government how the school is working to make changes.
WBUR's Carrie Jung contributed to this report from Boston.
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