Harvard University filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Friday morning, challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s decision — reportedly made at the direction of Kristi Noem — to revoke the university’s certification to enroll international students under the F-1 visa program. The Ivy League institution denounced the move as unconstitutional retaliation for its refusal to comply with political demands from the White House, including proposed changes to its curriculum and diversity initiatives.
The DHS revocation affects more than 7,000 visa holders at Harvard, potentially forcing them to transfer or face deportation. The university has warned that such action would have a “devastating effect” on both the institution and its international student population. The administration has defended the decision on the grounds of national security and campus safety, accusing Harvard of fostering antisemitism and maintaining ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
In a public statement, DHS accused Harvard’s leadership of creating “an unsafe campus environment by permitting anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals, including many Jewish students.”
In response, Harvard President Alan Garber reaffirmed the university’s commitment to its core principles and announced plans to seek a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the DHS action. Earlier this month, Garber emphasized that the university made significant updates to its governance in the past year and a half, implementing a strategy to combat antisemitism.
The legal tussle comes amid President Trump’s threats to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status, as CNBC reports:
“With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,” the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts said.
“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 suit said.
The lawsuit called the revocation a “blatant violation of the First Amendment” and the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The school also said it was the “latest act by the government 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.”
Friday’s lawsuit is distinct from Harvard’s earlier legal action challenging the administration’s freeze of more than $2 billion in federal funding — an action the university argues violates its First Amendment rights.
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HARVARD AND MANY UNIVERSITIES HAVE GONE ROGUE WITH THEIR SO-CALLED GOVERNORNESS AUTHORITY!!! WE ALL LIVE UNDER RULES AND POLICIES TO ADDRESS OUR SAFETY AND FUNCTIONS IN SOCIETY!! WE MAY NOT LIKE ALL OF THEM, BUT THEY GENERALLY DON’T INTERFERE WITH OUR FREEDOMS!!! JUST AS WE HAVE RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT GOVERN OUR HIGHWAYS AND STREETS, THEY SERVE TO PROTECT (FOR EXAMPLE) OUR DAILY ACCESS AND USEAGE! NO TURN ON RED, 4-WAY STOP, RIGHT TURN ONLY, ETC.!