Harvard College v. Department of Homeland Security (District of Mass., No. 1:25-cv-11472) (Complaint and Motion for Temporary Restraining Order)

Excerpt:  “Yesterday, the government abruptly revoked that certification without process or cause, to immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders. This revocation is a blatant violation of the First Amendment, the Due Process Clause, and the Administrative Procedure Act. 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. The government’s actions are unlawful for other equally clear and pernicious reasons. They disregard the government’s own regulations—under which Harvard should remain certified to host F-1 and J-1 visa holders. They depart from decades of settled practice and come without rational explanation. And they were carried out abruptly without any of the robust procedures the government has established to prevent just this type of upheaval to thousands of students’ lives. 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 government’s actions come just days before graduation. Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.”