Federal judge blocks Trump administration decision to bar foreign student enrollment at Harvard

Harvard sues the Trump administration over ban on enrolling foreign students

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A federal judge has blocked a Trump administration decision to revoke Harvard University's ability to enroll international students.

The temporary restraining order stops the government from pulling Harvard's certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which allows the school to host international students with visas to study in the U.S.

Harvard filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts earlier Friday. In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, Harvard said the government's action violates the First Amendment and will 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 school filed for a temporary restraining order to block the Department of Homeland Security from carrying out the move.

The move has thrown campus into disarray days before graduation. Harvard said in the suit. International students who run labs, teach courses, assist professors and participate in Harvard sports are now left deciding whether to transfer or risk losing legal status to stay in the country, according to the filing.

The impact is heaviest at graduate schools such as the Harvard Kennedy School, where almost half the student body comes from abroad, and Harvard Business School, which is about one-third international. Along with its impact on current students, the move blocks thousands of students who were planning to come for summer and fall classes.