Post by : Jyoti Gupta

Photo:AFP

A judge has decided to keep President Trump’s rule—blocking new foreign students from coming to Harvard—on hold for now. This means students from other countries can still come to Harvard, at least until June 23, while the court thinks about whether to stop the rule for good.

President Trump said he wanted to stop foreign students from coming because of national security worries. Before this, the government also tried to take away Harvard’s right to have foreign students, but the judge stopped that too.

Harvard’s lawyer told the judge that Trump was treating international students like “pawns” to get back at Harvard for not following his demands. The lawyer said there’s no proof that Harvard is dangerous. The fight between Trump and Harvard started months ago when Harvard didn’t agree to changes the government wanted, like dealing with complaints about the school being too liberal and not doing enough about antisemitism. Because of this, the government cut research money, ended contracts, and even threatened to take away Harvard’s tax-free status.

In April, the government asked Harvard for lots of information about foreign students. Harvard gave some, but the government said it wasn’t enough and took away Harvard’s permission to have foreign students in a special program. This made it harder for Harvard to attract top students from around the world and hurt its reputation as a global university.

Some other countries’ universities, like those in Hong Kong, quickly invited Harvard’s students to study with them if needed. Harvard’s president said the school is working to fix problems like antisemitism but won’t give up its main values, even if the government puts pressure.

The judge will decide soon if the block on Trump’s rule will stay until the whole case is finished. For now, foreign students hoping to come to Harvard still have a chance.