On Friday, Harvard University initiated a lawsuit aimed at overturning a ban imposed by the Trump administration that prevents the prestigious institution from enrolling international students. This action stems from allegations that Harvard tolerates “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” on its campus.
This legal move follows a decision by the Department of Homeland Security to revoke Harvard’s authorization to enroll foreign students under the F-1 visa program, a directive issued at the request of Secretary Kristi Noem.
The DHS announcement specified that Harvard could not accept new international students and that those currently enrolled would have to exit the institution or risk losing their legal status in the United States. This ruling jeopardizes the academic futures of over 7,000 current visa holders studying at Harvard, which has faced increasing scrutiny from the Trump administration in recent months. President Donald Trump had previously suggested that Harvard should forfeit its tax-exempt status.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, argued that the government’s action could eliminate a significant portion of Harvard’s student population, noting that international students play a vital role in the university’s mission and operations.
According to the lawsuit, “Harvard’s certification is essential for each of Harvard’s thousands of international students to lawfully remain in this country while they complete coursework, obtain degrees, and continue critical research.” The filing characterized the revocation as a “blatant violation of the First Amendment” and the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The university claimed that this move by the government represented “the latest act in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the ‘ideology’ of its faculty and students.”
On Thursday, the DHS stated that it had revoked Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification due to claims that the institution’s leadership “has created an unsafe campus environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals, including many Jewish students, and otherwise obstruct its once-venerable learning environment.”
Harvard’s lawsuit noted that the timing of the government’s action was particularly striking, as it came just days ahead of graduation.
The complaint asserts, “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.” It also highlights that Secretary Noem sent a letter to Harvard’s International Office on April 16, demanding a list of each student visa holder within 10 business days and accusing the university of failing “to condemn anti-semitism.”
The university complied with these requests, providing the relevant information by April 30 and additional details on May 14.
However, the lawsuit states that on May 22, 2025, DHS deemed Harvard’s responses “insufficient” without detailing any regulations that the university purportedly failed to meet and revoked its SEVP certification “effective immediately.”
The legal action asserts that, in recent weeks, the Trump administration’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism had conditioned the continuation of numerous federal benefits for Harvard, including significant funding, upon the university agreeing to major changes in governance, admissions, hiring, and academic programs.
“When, on April 14, 2025, Harvard refused to accede to these demands, the government’s retribution was swift,” the lawsuit contends.
Shortly thereafter, the government allegedly froze over $2.2 billion in federal funding crucial to ongoing research at Harvard.
