Harvard University is taking legal action against the Trump administration following the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to revoke its ability to admit foreign students. This move intensifies the ongoing conflict with the institution and serves as an attempt to financially impact Harvard.

Harvard President Alan Garber announced the suit in a letter to the Harvard community.

“Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard,” the complaint reads.

The lawsuit, which was submitted to a federal court in Massachusetts, argues that the administration’s actions breach the First Amendment, violate constitutional due process rights, and contradict DHS’s own protocols. 

The legal challenge was initiated just a few hours after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem directed that Harvard be removed from the Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification list. This directive prevents Harvard from accepting new international students and requires current international students—who comprise about 25% of the student body—to transfer elsewhere. 

Garber characterized the government’s actions as an effort to lash out at Harvard over its “refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government’s illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty and our student body.”

“We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action,” he wrote.

The ban marks another blow in the fight between the administration and Ivy League school.

The administration has launched a multifront pressure campaign against the school for refusing to bow to its demands for changes to its admissions and hiring policies, as well as getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and a stronger stance against antisemitism.  

Last month, the school sued the administration for freezing more than $2 billion in federal funding unless it complies with various demands. 

But in that case, Harvard has not pursued any emergency relief. In the new lawsuit, the university indicated it would seek a temporary restraining order to immediately block the administration’s efforts as the litigation proceeds.

“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,” the lawsuit reads. 

International students made up 27 percent of Harvard’s student body in the 2024-25 academic year. 

This year has been a whirlwind for foreign students across the country as the Trump administration has sought to revoke the legal status of thousands of them. 

In the most high-profile cases, the federal government has targeted foreign students and faculty that have expressed support for Palestinians during on-campus protests of the Israel-Hamas war.  

Some international students fled the country to avoid arrest, and others are still sitting in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. 

Foreign students contribute more than $40 billion to the U.S. economy. 

Lexi Lonas Cochran contributed.