Can Trump Cut Off Harvard’s International Students? A Legal Showdown Begins

The administration pulled Harvard’s access to the federal immigration database. A judge just stepped in—but the power struggle isn’t over.

Students outside of The Harry Elkins Widener Library, the principal library at Harvard University.

Trump v. Harvard—A Bureaucratic Flashpoint

This week, the Trump administration revoked Harvard’s access to SEVIS, the federal immigration database used to enroll international students (NYT). Without it, Harvard couldn’t legally register any of its 6,800 international students for the upcoming term—even if their visas remained valid.

The Department of Homeland Security said the move followed insufficient cooperation on requests for records related to campus protests and antisemitism. But Harvard called it retaliation for speech and filed suit immediately. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday, blocking the ban—at least for now (NYT).

What It Means for Students

The sudden decertification could have rendered thousands of students immediately deportable, unless they transferred or left the U.S. The action also raised legal questions about whether a federal agency can unilaterally cripple a university’s ability to host foreign students by flipping a switch in a back-end database.

👉 In today’s Pro Brief: How a little-known government database nearly stripped 6,800 students of their legal status—and why Trump’s team may not be done using it.