Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
WASHINGTON, May 23 (Xinhua) — Harvard University on Friday filed a second lawsuit against the Trump administration, a day after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a ban on international students at the university.
“The revocation of our foreign admissions authorization is the latest in a series of government actions designed to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and submit to the federal government’s unlawful efforts to exert control over our academic programs, faculty, and student body,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a letter to the university community.
“We condemn this illegal and unjustified action. It jeopardizes the future of thousands of Harvard students and scholars and sends a disturbing message to countless others at colleges across the country who came to America to educate themselves and pursue their dreams,” Garber said.
Harvard’s president said the university has already filed a lawsuit and will file a motion for a temporary injunction soon. “While we seek legal relief through the courts, we will do everything we can to support our students and researchers,” he said.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the Trump administration’s decision on Thursday. “Let this serve as a warning to all universities and educational institutions across the country,” Noem said in a statement. “Admitting international students is a privilege, not a right, and that privilege has been revoked due to Harvard’s repeated failure to comply with federal law.”
The minister noted that in addition to the ban on the enrollment of future international students, “current international students at Harvard must transfer to another university or lose their legal status.”
On April 11, Trump administration officials sent a letter to Harvard demanding that the university undertake “meaningful governance reform and restructuring.” Among the administration’s key demands are rooting out what it calls anti-Semitism on campus and eliminating diversity initiatives that favor certain minority groups.
On April 14, Harvard University rejected the Trump administration’s demands for sweeping changes to its governance, recruitment, and admissions systems. Just hours later, the White House announced it was freezing $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contracts previously awarded to the university.
On April 16, Noem demanded that Harvard University provide information about illegal and violent activities by holders of foreign student visas by April 30, threatening that otherwise the school would lose its permission to accept foreign students.
On April 21, Harvard University said it had filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s funding freeze, calling the measure “unlawful and beyond the government’s authority.”
According to Harvard, international students made up more than 27 percent of the university’s total enrollment in the fall 2023 semester. –0–