On Friday morning, Harvard University filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from stripping its ability to enroll international students. The 72-page legal complaint accuses DHS of taking an “unprecedented and retaliatory” action that would severely disrupt the lives of thousands of students, many just days from graduation.
Harvard currently hosts over 7,000 international students.
University President Alan M. Garber ’76 denounced the move as “unlawful and unwarranted” in a message to the Harvard community, warning it jeopardizes the futures of students and scholars at Harvard and sends a chilling message to international students nationwide.
The legal action came less than a day after DHS informed Harvard it was decertified under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)—a status the university had held for over 70 years—citing allegations of campus antisemitism and race-based discrimination.
A federal judge later granted Harvard’s request for a temporary restraining order, halting the revocation.
Without SEVP certification, Harvard’s international students would risk losing legal residency in the U.S. or be forced to transfer.
In its filing, Harvard accused DHS of acting without due process or valid cause, suggesting the move was politically motivated retaliation intended to pressure the university to align its admissions and academic policies with the administration’s ideology.
The lawsuit argued that DHS’s actions violate the First Amendment by targeting Harvard for protected speech and academic freedom.
This is Harvard’s second lawsuit against the Trump administration, following legal action over billions in frozen research funding. That case is scheduled for a July 21 hearing.
In its request for the temporary restraining order, Harvard claimed the DHS order would cause immediate, irreparable harm by displacing visa-holding students and staff who contribute significantly to university operations, including teaching and healthcare. If a judge didn’t act by Sunday, the DHS could begin terminating the students’ legal status.
Harvard warned that the loss of international students would weaken its academic environment and global appeal, while potentially harming future enrollment. It also claimed the decertification could bar it from admitting new international students for up to two years.
Harvard’s lawyers argued DHS bypassed standard procedures and denied the university due process. DHS justified the revocation by saying Harvard had failed to adequately respond to a document request made on April 16, then allegedly ignored a follow-up request.
However, Harvard said it responded with two rounds of document submissions, on April 30 and May 14, fulfilling DHS’s eight categories of requested data, which included information on student protests, disciplinary actions, and any links to dangerous behavior. Officials declined to say exactly what was submitted.
DHS maintained the first submission was incomplete and asked for more details in four categories. Harvard responded again, but this second submission wasn’t publicly revealed until the day of the lawsuit. The lawsuit names DHS, DOJ, ICE, and the State Department as defendants.
Representing Harvard are attorneys including Robert K. Hur ’95 and William A. Burck, both of whom worked in the Trump administration. The DHS’s justification cited campus incidents and accused Harvard of enforcing “radical” diversity and inclusion policies and failing to screen international students ideologically—claims the university firmly denied.
Harvard insisted the government provided no proof of wrongdoing and instead retaliated after the university declined to comply with politically motivated demands.
The lawsuit also pointed to a Truth Social post by Trump calling for Harvard to lose its tax-exempt status, which came just one day before DHS sent its document request containing sweeping, unprecedented demands.
