The dispute between the Trump administration and Harvard University, explained

After six months of work, Shreya Mishra Reddy has a few more weeks and one last learning module standing between her and the credential she’s been chasing for more than half her life: Harvard graduate.

The last unit of her executive leadership program at Harvard University resumes on Wednesday. After that, Reddy’s booked to fly to Cambridge, Mass., in July to finish her certificate in person and graduate from one of the most prestigious universities in the world — a dream she and her family have shared for well over half her life. 

It’s also a dream she says has cost her at least $90,000 US.

Last week, Reddy was in the middle of a work meeting at home when she saw a notification pop up on her phone: The Trump administration had banned Harvard University from accepting international students like herself. She studies on an optional practical training visa, which has allowed her to work after finishing her undergrad at Duke University. But that visa expires in January, and though the ban has been temporarily blocked, she said the news made her nervous about boarding her flight this summer.

“It was completely confusing and devastating to read something like that,” Reddy, 33, told CBC’s As It Happens in an interview from Toronto, where her husband lives.

“If we’re not allowed to be back on campus, we’re not allowed to graduate … it takes away so much,” added Reddy, who grew up in India. “Studying at Harvard was not really about a degree. It was so much more.”

Reddy is one of thousands of international students at Harvard University who say they’re in confused, anxious limbo as they watch a legal battle unfold between their school and the Trump administration. 

Here’s a recap of the conflict.

How did the dispute start?

Last month, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem asked Harvard for a trove of private student data last month, including every international student’s course work and information on any student visa holder’s disciplinary and legal history. Noem later expanded her request to include any video footage of international students who had  been involved in illegal, dangerous or protest activity over the past five years — whether it be on or off Harvard’s campus. 

After a few weeks of back-and-forth, Harvard declined part of the request. The Trump administration retaliated by revoking Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which meant the university no longer had the ability to enrol international students.

• Are you a Canadian attending Harvard University? How will the Trump administration’s move to bar foreign students affect you and your studies? We’d like to hear from you. Send an email to ask@cbc.ca

The decision could force more than one-quarter of the school’s enrolment to change schools or leave the United States.

The government also stripped the university of its authority to sponsor F and J visas for international students and scholars for the 2025-26 academic year.

An F-1 visa is a visa for foreign nationals use to enter the United States and attend an accredited university like Harvard. A J-1 visa is for people taking “approved educational and cultural exchange programs.”

Trump has already frozen several billion dollars in federal grants to Harvard in recent weeks, leading the university to sue to restore the funding. The administration has accused the school of not doing enough to curb antisemitism following pro-Palestinian protests that have emerged in the past two years.

How did it get to court?

Harvard sued the administration last Friday. The claim argued the government violated the university’s First Amendment rights to control its own governance and the “ideology” of its students and staff.

“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,” read the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”

A judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s move later Friday. Judge Allison D. Burroughs found Harvard has shown the ban would cause the university “immediate and irreparable” harm.

That temporary restraining order is still in effect. Another hearing is scheduled in Boston for Thursday morning to determine whether that order should be extended, according to the university.

What does the temporary court order mean for students?

Since Friday’s temporary order stopped the administration’s ban, Harvard can keep enrolling international students and scholars as the legal case works its way through the courts. 

Harvard’s F-1 and J-1 visa programs were restored, according to the university, so students and scholars can move ahead with their schoolwork “without interruption.” Students who are already in Boston with their visas will not have their status revoked or termination, so the school said they do not need to leave the country or change schools immediately.

The situation is more tenuous for students who don’t yet have visas or who found themselves outside the United States when the administration’s ban came down. On its website, Harvard said inbound students should be prepared with documentation and a plan to check in with friends and family members throughout their journey, so someone can call Harvard’s International Office on their behalf if they don’t check in on time.

“We are advised that some of our traveling international students and scholars have been re-admitted to the country without issue, but we also believe that each person needs to assess their own risks and make the choice that is best for them, given their personal circumstances,” the university’s website reads.

Reddy said she’s hoping more information will come up before her flight.

“Right now, it’s all up in the air. I’m hoping a resolution is reached soon, but in the meantime, I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”