Harvard sues the Trump administration over a visa ban it calls a political vendetta targeting foreign students and punishing the university’s refusal to comply. (RICK FRIEDMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Harvard argues the measure does not target a "class of aliens," but instead singles out Harvard-bound students, calling it a "government vendetta" rather than a national security measure.
In April, a federal task force led by the Trump administration sent the university a list of demands, including ideological screening of students and faculty, "viewpoint diversity" quotas in hiring and admissions, and punishment of student activist groups.
The administration also demanded Harvard report foreign funding sources and allow government oversight of internal policies.
When Harvard refused, the government froze $2.2 billion in research funding. Trump later posted on Truth Social that Harvard should lose its tax-exempt status if it continued to "push radical ideology." In another post, he accused the school of hiring "woke, Radical Left, idiots" and claimed it was no longer a great university.
TRUMP ACCUSES HARVARD OF BEING 'VERY SLOW' TO TURN OVER FOREIGN STUDENT INFO
Harvard says the Trump administration is targeting the university specifically. (Getty Images)
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded to the lawsuit by saying it "seeks to kneecap the President’s constitutionally vested powers under Article II. It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students.
"The Trump administration is committed to restoring common sense to our student visa system; no lawsuit, this or any other, is going to change that. We have the law, the facts, and common sense on our side."
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International students now face uncertainty as the legal battle wages on. Jing, a 23-year-old Chinese graduate student interning in Asia, told The Associated Press: "It is tiring; we all feel numb now."
Another student, Yonas Nuguse from Ethiopia, who was accepted after surviving war and a school shutdown, also told The AP, "I hope the situation is temporary and I can enroll on time."
Fox News' Louis Casiano and David Spunt contributed to this report.
Jasmine is a writer at Fox News Digital and a military spouse based in New Orleans. Stories can be sent to jasmine.baehr@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/harvard-sues-trump-admin-foreign-student-ban-describes-government-vendetta