A federal judge on Thursday extended a temporary order blocking the Trump administration’s revocation of Harvard’s ability to enroll international students.
The extension came after the Trump administration said it would give the university 30 days to challenge the revocation, according to a letter attached to a Wednesday night court filing.
The court document states that the Department of Homeland Security is asking Harvard “to submit sworn statements and documentary or other evidence to rebut the grounds for withdrawal of certification” under the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which allows Harvard to enroll foreign students.
That includes misconduct records of its international students and a requirement that the university maintains “a campus environment free from violence and antisemitism,” according to the May 28 letter.
Last week, the Trump administration revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll foreign students. Hours later, U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs temporarily blocked the administration’s effort.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted the letter on X on Thursday.
“Harvard’s refusal to comply with SEVP oversight was the latest evidence that it disdains the American people and takes for granted U.S. taxpayer benefits,” Noem wrote, referring to the foreign student program. “Following our letter to Harvard, the school attempted to claim it now wishes to comply with SEVP standards.”
“We continue to reject Harvard’s repeated pattern of endangering its students and spreading American hate — it must change its ways in order to participate in American programs,” she added.
Harvard did not immediately return a request for comment.
Burroughs said she would leave the temporary order in place until it can be replaced by a preliminary injunction. No date or timeline was discussed Thursday for when a formal injunction might be issued.
Burroughs’ extension of the order came on the deay of the university’s 347th graduation ceremony.
If the revocation is successful, foreign students studying at Harvard will lose their ability to stay in the United States unless they transfer schools. International students make up roughly one-fourth of the university’s student body.
The Trump administration is also battling the nation’s oldest — and arguably most prestigious — university in court over the funding from the federal government that gives Harvard the ability to conduct state-of-the-art research. Last month, the administration stripped Harvard of $2 billion in federal research grants, prompting Harvard to sue.
On Monday, Trump said on his social media website, Truth Social, that he was considering taking $3 billion in grant money away from Harvard and giving it to trade schools instead.
Harvard President Alan Garber, in an interview Tuesday with NPR, said he was “less concerned about whether it goes to a trade school or if it goes to some other project, like working on highways.”
“What the real question is, how much value does the federal government get from its expenditures on research?” Garber said.
The legal battles came shortly after Harvard refused to comply with a list of sweeping demands from the Trump administration’s Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism last month.
The task force wanted to oversee who Harvard admits and hires and subject its faculty to a government audit.
The confrontation with Harvard is among the Trump administration’s broader efforts to determine who has access to higher education in the U.S.
On Tuesday, the administration stopped scheduling new interviews for international students seeking visas to study in the U.S., according to an internal cable seen by NBC News. The State Department will also expand its screening of visa applicants’ social media use, according to the cable.
Abigail Williams contributed.
