Judge blocks Trump administration’s effort to bar Harvard from enrolling international students

A federal judge said that she would issue a preliminary injunction that would allow Harvard to continue enrolling international students — halting, at least for now, the Trump administration’s efforts to ban the practice.

On Thursday, lawyers from Harvard and the Trump administration were in court in Boston over the administration’s attempt to revoke the school’s ability to enroll students and scholars on international visas.

The move comes after the same judge, Allison D. Burroughs, granted a temporary restraining order last Friday.

“To me it represents some kind of temporary relief,” says Ella Ricketts, a first-year international student at Harvard. She’s set to start an internship soon, and had been worried that without a block, she wouldn’t be able to. She says she’s hesitant to mark this as a victory. “Obviously I remain optimistic and hopeful, but this is very much just one step in a much, much larger process.” 

Harvard has nearly 7,000 international students, which make up more than a quarter of the student body. More than 1.1 million international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities in the 2023-’24 school year. They do not qualify for federal financial aid, and so for many colleges represent a crucial financial lifeline.

This is a developing story and may be updated as details emerge.