1 day Ago
The Trump administration had defended the proclamation on national security grounds and said that Harvard was not properly screening foreign students for terrorist ties. But Judge Burroughs disagreed that the administration's action did not violate Harvard's academic freedom and constitutional rights.
Freedom of Thought and Expression Upheld by Ruling
In a 44-page opinion, Burroughs stressed that what was at issue in the case went to the core of democratic principles. "Freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of speech … is also an essential safeguard against authoritarianism," she wrote. The judge, calling the government's action an attempt to control a respected academic institution, said it had the appearance of an effort to single out international students who did not share the administration's ideology.
This is not the first occasion that Burroughs has stepped in. She had previously stymied an effort by the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to cancel Harvard's visa program for students, which would have affected nearly a quarter of the student body and forced many students to leave the U.S. or move elsewhere.
Lawsuits Pitting Harvard Against Trump Administration Will Go Forward
The move is part of a larger standoff between Harvard and the Trump administration. The university is now engaged in a dispute with the federal government about $2+ billion in research funding which has been frozen – largely research money for medical and scientific projects.
The administration's moves have been associated with Harvard's supposed failure to fall in line with White House priorities, which have included opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and how the campus has handled student protests over subjects such as the war in Gaza.
Judge Burroughs, appointed during the Obama administration, is expected to rule on that funding case later this summer. Harvard, the most high-profile academic institution to hold firm against what it views as politically motivated moves by the Trump administration, reiterated on Wednesday its commitment to challenging all legal limits of the policy.
