Harvard University Saves the Day for Foreign Students
A US federal judge just put a stop to the government’s plan to kick foreign students out of Harvard University. The judge’s order came right after Harvard sued the Trump administration for banning foreign students from enrolling at the school. The ban was announced out of the blue the day before, causing chaos for the elite college in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Who’s Involved and When It Happened
The US district judge named Allison Burroughs in Boston made the call to freeze the government’s policy on a Friday morning, right after it was forced on Harvard the day before. The Trump administration was quick to accuse Columbia University of breaking civil rights laws in the middle of all this drama. Overseas governments were also worried about the administration’s attack on Harvard and other top US universities.
Harvard Fights Back Against the Ban
Harvard wasn’t having any of it. The university immediately filed a lawsuit in federal court, arguing that the government’s ban was unconstitutional. They said it would seriously mess up things for Harvard and over 7,000 international students. Harvard claimed that the ban would erase a big chunk of its student body and hurt the university’s mission. They were ready to go to court to stop the Department of Homeland Security from kicking out foreign students.
The Fallout and Backlash
The Trump White House wasn’t impressed. They called Harvard’s lawsuit “frivolous”, but Harvard hit back hard. They said that without international students, Harvard wouldn’t be the same. The university has nearly 6,800 foreign students from all over the world, most of them working on postgraduate degrees.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services accused Columbia University of turning a blind eye to harassment against Jewish students. The office for civil rights at HHS pointed out a hostile climate for Jewish students at Columbia and called on the university to take action to protect them.
The situation at Harvard and Columbia has been tense for a while now, with the Trump administration keeping a close eye on both schools. Harvard even had to hand over records on international students and their activities in a bid to keep its foreign student program alive.
International Reactions and Calls for Change
Overseas, the Chinese government criticized the US for targeting foreign students at Harvard. They said it would only make America look bad on the world stage. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology even offered a helping hand to Harvard students affected by the ban.
In Germany, former health minister and Harvard alum Karl Lauterbach slammed the Trump administration’s move as “research policy suicide”. German officials also urged the US to reverse the ban, calling it a big mistake.
The Legal Battle Continues
Harvard’s lawsuit lists the university as the plaintiff against several government agencies and officials. The White House brushed off the lawsuit as a waste of time, but Harvard was determined to fight back. The university’s president condemned the government’s actions as illegal and unwarranted.
In the end, Harvard stood up for its international students and won a temporary reprieve from the ban. The battle isn’t over yet, but for now, foreign students at Harvard can breathe a sigh of relief.
