Judge temporarily block Trump plan to stop Harvard admitting foreign students

One US judge don give temporary restraining order wey block Trump goment plan to remove Harvard University ability to admit foreign students.

Di decision dey come afta Harvard carry di goment go court – di latest fire for di gbas gbos between di White House and one of America most ogbonge university.

US District Judge Allison Burroughs n aim give di temporary restraining order for one sharp sharp ruling on Friday.

Di order press pause for di Department of Homeland Security move wey im make on Thursday to revoke Harvard access to di Student and Exchange Visitor Programme – one goment database wey dey manage foreign students.

Harvard sue Trump administration afta e revoke di university ability to admit international students.

For di case wey dem file for Boston, di university call di administration actions "blatant violation" of di law.

Dis dey come afta Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tok say di goment bin revoke Harvard "Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of dia failure to obey di law".

"Wit di stroke of one biro, di goment don try to erase one quarter of Harvard student body, international students wey don contribute significantly to di University and Im mission," Harvard argue for di case.

Di Trump administration say Harvard no eva do enough to fight antisemitism and change dia hiring and admissions practices – allegations wey di university don strongly deny.

"Let dis serve as warning to all universities and academic institutions across di kontri," Noem write for X on Thursday.

Although Harvard leaders don take some actions - including dismissing di leaders for im Centre for Middle Eastern Studies, wey bin come under fire for failing to represent Israeli perspectives -for dis latest court case di university dey willing to fight Trump goment for court.

Di university don hire several high-profile Republican lawyers for di battle, including one advisor to Trump Organization and Robert Hur, one former special counsel wey bin investigate Joe Biden for keeping classified documents.

Harvard bin call di move "unlawful" for one statement.

"We condemn dis unlawful and unwarranted action," Harvard President Alan Garber tok inside one letter.

"Di revocation continue a series of goment actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to di federal goment illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body."

'We no sign for dis'

Harvard "na di ultimate school wey anybody for India wan go," Shreya Mishra Reddy tok.

Wen Shreya get admission to Harvard University for 2023, her parents happy no be small.

Now, as her graduation don dey reach so, she gatz break di bad news to her family: she fit no graduate for July from di executive leadership programme sake of Trump move to stop Harvard from admitting international students.

"E bin dey veri difficult for dem as dem still dey try process am," she tok.

Shreya follow among di around 6,800 international students for Harvard, wey make up more dan 27% of students wey dem admit dis year.

International students na veri important source of funds for di Ivy League school.

Harvard dey depend heavily on di money wey international students dey pay as as school fees.

Many of di students dey pay full school fees, while local students dey fit get tins like scholarships and loans.

One year school fees for Harvard Law School, for example, costs $80,760 (£60,758). With housing, food, insurance and oda expenses inside, students fit pay reach $120,000 (£90,192) for di year.

About one third of di foreign students na from China, and more dan 700 na Indian, like Reddy.

Now, all of dem no sure wetin go happun next.

Chinese student Kat Xie, wey dey her second year for one STEM programme, say she dey "in shock".

"I don almost forget about [di earlier threat of ban] and den Thursday announcement suddenly come."

But she add say one part of her bin dey expect "di worst", so she don spend di last few weeks dey find professional advice on how to continue to stay for US.

But all di options dey "troublesome and expensive", she tok.

"None of dis be wetin we sign for," 20-year-old Abdullah Shahid Sial from Pakistan, wey be veri vocal student activist, tok.

Sial na junior wey im major na applied mathematics and economics, and im be one of only two Pakistani undergraduate students wey dem admit for Harvard for 2023.

Im na also di first pesin for im family wey don go study abroad. E bin be "massive" moment for im family, im tok.

But e say di situation wey im find imsef now dey "ridiculous and dehumanising".

Students future no dey certain, weda na di ones wey dey wait to register dis summer, di ones wey don go halfway through di school, or even di ones wey dey ready to graduate, wey dia work opportunity dey connected to dia visa.

Di ones wey already dey Harvard go gatz transfer to oda American universities if dem wan remain for US and retain dia visas.

"I hope Harvard go stand for us and dem go fit work out some solution," Reddy say.

Di university don first tok say dem dey "fully committed to maintaining di ability to host our international students and scholars, wey come from more dan 140 kontris".

Big implications

Dis move against Harvard get implications for di million or so international students wey dey study for US, especially di ones wey bin witness major pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

Trump goment don dey deal wit pro-Palestinian campus protesters.

Di goment be like e dey target China wen e bin accuse Harvard of "coordinating wit Chinese Communist Party" for one statement.

Beijing respond on Friday by criticising di "politicisation" of education, wey mean say to use education for politics.

Dem say dis move go "only harm di image and international standing of di United States", and add say make dem withdraw di ban "as soon as possible".

Many of di international students dey face investigations, as goment dey try regulate dia accreditation process and reshape di way wey dem take dey run am.

Di White House bin don first threaten foreign students for April, afta di university refuse to make changes to how e dey take do im hire, admissions and teaching practices.

And dem also freeze nearly $3bn wey dem dey give as federal grants.