Judge blocks Trump move to ban Harvard from admitting foreign students

The TOI correspondent from Washington: A US federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to bar international students from enrolling at Harvard in yet another humiliating judicial setback to the MAGA supremo.

Judge Allison Burroughs allowed a temporary restraining order she issued last week to remain in place until a preliminary injunction is issued, saying she wants to maintain the status quo pending a final ruling. “People are terrified,” the judge observed, echoing the submission made by Harvard's lawyers. The University said thousands of foreign students -- including some 800 students from India -- are in limbo with many seeking transfers to other institutions and some new students deferring enrollment. Foreign students are also reporting visa denials and revocations amid an open declaration of embargo against students from China by the Trump administration and directions to Harvard to limit foreign student intake to 15 per cent. Judge Burrough's decision came even as 9,000 graduating students were gathered in Harvard Yard to receive their degrees. Harvard's President Alan Garber received a standing ovation when he said, "To the class of 2025, from down the street, across the country and around the world," a oblique affirmation of Harvard keeping its doors open to foreign students.The battle is far from over with the Trump administration doubling down on universities deemed as liberal and woke, setting up punitive moves against storied schools like Columbia and Harvard.