‘Illegal step’: Harvard University files legal challenge over Donald Trump’s foreign student ban, seeks immediate court halt

Harvard University and Donald Trump

Harvard University on Thursday took a legal path to challenge US President Donald Trump’s ban on foreign college students. The Ivy League college amended its lawsuit and mentioned that it’s going to ask the court to instantly halt the enforcement of the proclamation. “Singling out our institution for its enrollment of international students and its collaboration with other educational institutions around the world is yet another illegal step taken by the Administration to retaliate against Harvard,” Harvard president Alan M. Garber mentioned in a letter to the campus group.“As you know, we recently obtained a temporary restraining order enjoining the Administration’s illegal revocation of Harvard’s Student Exchange Visa Program (SEVP) certification. Last night’s proclamation circumvents that court order. Today, we have amended our lawsuit and will ask the court to immediately halt the enforcement of the proclamation. We hope the court will act swiftly,” he added. The Harvard president additionally mentioned that they’re engaged on plans to make sure that worldwide college students and students can proceed to pursue their work at Harvard this summer time and thru the approaching educational 12 months. School management will present updates on this planning.Additionally, the Harvard International Office will probably be in contact immediately with college students and students who could also be affected by the proclamation, additionally issued final night time, banning journey of residents from sure international locations to the United States.Recent developments have intensified the feud between Trump and the University. On Wednesday, Trump issued a directive aiming to stop US entry for Harvard’s worldwide college students, doubtlessly affecting hundreds scheduled to reach on the Cambridge, Massachusetts campus for summer time and fall phrases.Harvard’s subsequent legal challenge questioned Trump’s use of federal legislation permitting him to limit a “class of aliens” deemed dangerous to nationwide pursuits. The college argued that focusing on solely Harvard-bound college students fails to represent a “class of aliens”.“The President’s actions thus are not undertaken to protect the ‘interests of the United States,’ but instead to pursue a government vendetta against Harvard,” the college wrote.The administration’s heightened scrutiny of student visas nationwide has created widespread uncertainty. Earlier this spring, hundreds of scholars quickly misplaced their US residency permissions earlier than the choice was reversed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio not too long ago introduced plans to “aggressively revoke” visas for Chinese college students.