The US federal court has temporarily suspended the Donald Trump administration’s order, which deprived Harvard University of the right to accept international students in the 2025-2026 academic year. This ban was previously announced by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). About this informs CNN.
Consideration of the possible extension of the restriction is scheduled for May 29. This is Harvard’s second lawsuit against the Trump administration. This time, the defendants were DHS, the US Department of Justice, and the State Department. The university accuses the government of trying to exert political pressure and interfering with the institution’s academic autonomy. Earlier, the US government revoked Harvard’s permission to admit international students for 2025-2026.
In the lawsuit, Harvard is challenging the Trump administration’s decision to decertify its international student and exchange programs. This decision concerns about 7,000 foreign students, among whom, according to Suspilny, there are approximately twenty citizens of Ukraine.
Harvard President Alan Garber called the government’s actions “a continuation of a series of government actions aimed at retaliating against Harvard for our refusal to relinquish our academic independence,” referring to attempts to exercise “control” over programs, faculty and students.
As for Ukrainian students, the option of transferring to another university in the US, offered by DHS, is unrealistic for them. Most of them can study only with full financial support from Harvard itself.
