Federal judge blocks White House attempt to stop Harvard enrolling foreign students

A judge yesterday blocked the US government from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students hours after the university went to court over the ban.

- Michael Sainato Lucy Campbell

Allison Burroughs, a federal district judge in Boston, issued a temporary order freezing the policy imposed on Thursday on the university based in nearby Cambridge.

The Trump administration is also in a fight with Columbia University in New York, accusing it of violating civil rights laws.

Overseas governments have expressed alarm at the administration's actions against Harvard as part of an assault on elite US higher education institutions.

There are growing tensions between federal officials and Harvard over the Trump administration's claims that the university had responded inadequately to antisemitism on its campus.

The White House terminated £333m in grants to the university in May, following an earlier cancellation of £1.63bn in federal funding. Harvard announced yesterday that it was challenging the administration's decision to bar the Ivy League school from enrolling foreign students, calling it unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House's political demands.