FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration's efforts to prevent Harvard University from admitting international students.
The order from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs preserves Harvard's right to host foreign students while the case is being resolved.
This marks another victory for the Ivy League school, as it defies multiple government sanctions amid a battle with the White House.
Harvard University sued the Department of Homeland Security in May after the agency withdrew the school's certification to host foreign students and issue documents for their visas.
This action would have forced about 7,000 foreign students at Harvard to transfer or risk staying illegally in the U.S. New foreign students would have been barred from coming to Harvard.
The university called it illegal retaliation for refusing White House demands to review Harvard's policies on campus protests, admissions, hiring and other issues. Burroughs temporarily halted the action hours after Harvard filed suit.
Less than two weeks later, in early June, Trump took action to ban foreign students from entering the U.S. to study at Harvard, citing another legal justification. Harvard opposed the move, and Burroughs temporarily blocked that effort as well.
Trump has been at odds with Harvard for months, after the latter rejected a series of government requests aimed at responding to complaints from conservatives that the school has become too liberal and tolerated anti-Jewish bullying.
Trump officials have cut more than $2.6 billion in research grants, ended federal contracts and threatened to revoke its tax-exempt status.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that Harvard hand over a trove of data related to any dangerous or illegal activities by foreign students. Harvard says it complied with the request, but Noem said the response was inadequate and on May 22 she revoked Harvard's certification in the Exchange Student and Visitor Program.
The sanction immediately put Harvard at a disadvantage as it competed for the best students in the world, the school said in its lawsuit, and damaged Harvard's reputation as a global research center.
"Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard," the lawsuit said.
The move would have upset some graduate schools that recruit many students from abroad. Several overseas schools quickly offered invitations to Harvard students, including two universities in Hong Kong.
Harvard President Alan Garber previously said the university has made changes to combat anti-Semitism. But Harvard, he said, will not deviate from its "core, legally protected principles," even after receiving federal ultimatums.
Lini një Përgjigje