BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is siding with Harvard University in its escalating legal fight with the Trump administration over the move to ban foreign students from attending the Ivy League school.
In a legal filing Wednesday, Campbell argued that the Trump administration’s move will prevent thousands of international students and academics from completing their studies at Harvard and threatens the state’s academic institutions, economic prosperity, and its global leadership in education and scientific innovation.
“The impact of this revocation extends far beyond Harvard,” Campbell wrote in the 24-page brief. “International students make considerable economic contributions to the commonwealth, but their importance transcends economics; they enrich the commonwealth’s academic discourse, strengthen its research capabilities, and enhance its global competitiveness.”
Campbell, a Democrat, urged the court to grant Harvard’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s order while the issue plays out in court.
On Friday, U.S. District Court judge Allison Burroughs granted a temporary restraining order freezing the policy a few hours after Harvard sued to block what it called a “blatant violation” of its First Amendment rights and federal laws.
Harvard’s complaint alleges that the decision last week to drop the school from the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program system violates the law. The lawsuit argues the move was “retaliation” for its refusal of the Trump administration’s “ideologically rooted” policy demands.
“It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the ‘ideology’ of its faculty and students,” Harvard’s lawyers wrote in the complaint.
Both sides are expected in Burrough’s courtroom in Boston on Thursday for oral arguments in Harvard’s motion for a preliminary injunction, which if granted would block the Trump administration’s policy until she rules on the lawsuit.
The revocation of Harvard’s ability to enroll international students marked a sharp escalation of the fight between Trump and the elite school, which is refusing to bow to White House policy demands.
Two weeks ago, the White House’s joint anti-semitism task force — which includes the U.S. Department of Education — directed federal agencies to “terminate” $450 million in grants to the school.
The agencies cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 rebuke in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, university investigations and reports that found Jewish students are subjected to pervasive insults, physical assault, and intimidation on campus, with “no meaningful response” from Harvard’s leadership.
The funding cuts come in addition to more than $2.2 billion in direct federal funds the Trump administration recently announced it was cancelling over the dispute.
Harvard sued to block the “arbitrary and capricious” move, arguing it violated its First Amendment rights and the statutory provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
In the directive dropping Harvard from the SEVP system, Homeland Security Secretary Noem said the directive seeks to hold Harvard “accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.”
“It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments,” Noem said in a statement. “Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump accused the university of accepting foreign “radicals” and suggested that there should be a cap on the number of international students attending the prestigious school.
Currently about 30% of Harvard’s student body are international students, according to federal court filings, but Trump suggested that should be cut in half to provide more options for American students. The federal government has final say over issuing visas to foreign students.
“We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools, but can’t get in because we have foreign students there,” Trump said in his remarks. “But I want to make sure that the foreign students we let in love our country.”
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.