A US District Court Judge has temporarily halted the government’s order, which had prohibited Harvard University from admitting international students. The ruling was made on Friday, just hours after the university filed a lawsuit.
Harvard had argued that the revocation of the student and exchange program was a “clear retaliation” for the university’s rejection of the “ideologically motivated political demands of the government.” The judge is currently also presiding over a separate lawsuit filed by Harvard against the freezing of federal funds, worth $2.65 billion, by the government.
The US Department of Homeland Security had announced on Thursday that Harvard was no longer allowed to enroll foreign students and existing foreign students would have to leave the university or face the loss of their legal status.