Harvard sues US government over foreign student ban

23 May 2025, 14:04

Harvard has announced legal action against the US government over a ban on allowing foreign students.

The legal action comes after the federal government revoked Harvard's certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and stripped the University of its authority to sponsor F- and J- visas for international students.

In a statement, Harvard's President Alan M. Garber said: "The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government’s illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body."

The statement condemned the "unlawful and unwarranted action", and added: "We have just filed a complaint, and a motion for a temporary restraining order will follow. As we pursue legal remedies, we will do everything in our power to support our students and scholars."

Harvard enrols almost 6,800 foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Most are graduate students and they come from more than 100 countries.

The federal government announced the action on Thursday, accusing Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing "anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators" to assault Jewish students on campus.

It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, contending the university had hosted and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024.

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Harvard president Mr Garber earlier this month said the university has made changes to its governance over the past year and a half, including a broad strategy to combat antisemitism.

But he said Harvard would not budge on its "its core, legally-protected principles" over fears of retaliation. Harvard has said it will respond at a later time to allegations first raised by House Republicans about coordination with the Chinese Communist Party.

The threat to Harvard's international enrolment stems from an April 16 request from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who demanded that Harvard provide information about foreign students that might implicate them in violence or protests that could lead to their deportation.

The suit is separate from the university's earlier one challenging more than two billion US dollars (£1.49 billion) in federal cuts imposed by the Republican administration.

Earlier, the Chinese government said the Trump administration's move to ban international students from Harvard would harm America's international standing, as anxious students and parents overseas worried about the future.

Among the two largest parts of the international student community in Harvard are Chinese and Indian students.

The university enrolled 6,703 international students across all of its schools in 2024, according to the school's data, with 1,203 of those from China and 788 from India.

The Trump administration's move, announced on Thursday, was a hot topic on Chinese social media. State broadcaster CCTV questioned whether America would remain a top destination for foreign students, noting Harvard is already suing the US government in court.

"But with the long litigation period, thousands of international students may have trouble waiting," the CCTV commentary said.

It went on to say that it becomes necessary for international students to consider other options "when policy uncertainty becomes the norm".