A federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from cutting off Harvard University’s enrollment of foreign students. The administration’s move was seen as unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands.

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs granted the order after Harvard filed a lawsuit earlier Friday in federal court in Boston. Harvard argued that the government’s action violates the First Amendment and would have an “immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.”

“With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,” Harvard said in its suit. “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”

The Trump administration accused Harvard of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus. It also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, contending the school had hosted and trained members of a Chinese paramilitary group as recently as 2024.

Harvard President Alan Garber said the university has made changes to its governance over the past year and a half, including a broad strategy to combat antisemitism. “Harvard would not budge on its ‘its core, legally-protected principles’ over fears of retaliation,” Garber emphasized.

The threat to Harvard’s international enrollment stems from an April 16 request from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who demanded that Harvard provide information about foreign students that might implicate them in violence or protests that could lead to their deportation. Harvard says it provided “thousands of data points” in response to Noem’s April 16 demand.

The lawsuit said the administration violated the government’s own regulations for withdrawing a school’s certification. The government can remove colleges from the Student Exchange and Visitor Program, making them ineligible to host foreign students on their campus, usually for administrative reasons outlined in law.

Noem said Harvard can regain its ability to host foreign students if it produces a trove of records on foreign students within 72 hours. Her updated request demands all records, including audio or video footage, of foreign students participating in protests or dangerous activity on campus.