A U.S. federal court prohibited the government’s action to revoke Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification.
On the 29th (local time), Judge Allison Burroughs accepted Harvard’s injunction request and prohibited the government action. Burroughs stated, “Harvard must maintain the status quo so that it can continue to admit foreign students and visa holders.” As a result, Harvard can continue to enroll foreign students until the court makes its final ruling.
Previously, on the 23rd, a U.S. court issued a temporary restraining order halting the effectiveness of the Department of Homeland Security’s SEVP certification revocation, and on this day, extended the deadline to maintain the restriction until the final ruling. SEVP, a program managed by the Department of Homeland Security for student visas, requires universities to obtain SEVP certification to act as sponsors in the foreign student visa issuance process.
The White House immediately pushed back. White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt noted at a briefing that day, “If judges want to be Secretary of State or President, they can run for those offices themselves.” This implies that the judiciary is infringing upon the executive branch’s territory.
David Super, a professor of administrative law at Georgetown University, told The New York Times (NYT), “Harvard argued that the government did not follow proper notification procedures as grounds for the injunction request,” adding, “Procedural violations often become grounds for the court to render unfavorable rulings against the government, so it appears the government tried to eliminate that weakness.”