*

Judge blocks policy affecting 7,000 visa holders, citing

constitutional violations

*

Trump administration cities immigration and national

security

concerns, may appeal

*

Harvard says it faces retaliation for refusing to align

with

Trump's agenda

(Adds quote from Harvard student in paragraphs 6-7, adds White

House statement in paragraph 8)

By Jonathan Stempel and Nate Raymond

BOSTON, May 23 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday

temporarily blocked the Trump administration from revoking

Harvard University's ability to enroll foreign students, a

policy the Ivy League school called part of President Donald

Trump's broader effort to retaliate against it for refusing to

"surrender its academic independence."

The order provides temporary relief to the thousands of

international students who were faced with being forced to

transfer under a policy that the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based

university called a "blatant violation" of the U.S. Constitution

and other federal laws, and said would have an "immediate and

devastating effect" on the university and more than 7,000 visa

holders.

"Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard,"

the 389-year-old school said in its lawsuit filed earlier on

Friday in Boston federal court. Harvard enrolled nearly 6,800

international students in its current school year, equal to 27%

of total enrollment.

The move was the latest escalation in a broader battle between

Harvard and the White House, as the Republican administration

seeks to compel universities, law firms, news media, courts and

other institutions that value independence from partisan

politics to align with his agenda.

Harvard has pushed back hard against Trump, having previously

sued to restore nearly $3 billion in federal grants that had

been frozen or canceled. In recent weeks, the administration has

also proposed ending Harvard's tax-exempt status and hiking

taxes on its endowment, and opened an investigation into whether

it violated civil rights laws.

Leo Gerden, a Swedish student set to graduate Harvard with an

undergraduate degree in economics and government this month,

called the judge's ruling a "great first step" but said

international students were bracing for a long legal fight that

would keep them in limbo.

"There is no single decision by Trump or by Harvard or by a

judge that is going to put an end to this tyranny of what Trump

is doing," Gerden said.

The Trump administration may appeal U.S. District Judge Allison

Burroughs' ruling. In a statement, White House spokeswoman

Abigail Jackson said, "unelected judges have no right to stop

the Trump Administration from exercising their rightful control

over immigration policy and national security policy."

Since Trump's inauguration on January 20, his administration has

accused several universities of indifference toward the welfare

of Jewish students during widespread campus protests against

Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Harvard says a fifth of its

foreign students in 2024 were from China, Washington's primary

geopolitical rival.

In announcing on Thursday the termination of Harvard's Student

and Exchange Visitor Program certification, effective with the

2025-2026 academic year, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi

Noem, without providing evidence, accused the university

of "fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the

Chinese Communist Party."

The university says it is committed to combating antisemitism

and investigating credible allegations of civil rights

violations.

Harvard's court challenges over the administration's policies

stand in contrast to its New York-based peer Columbia

University's concessions to similar pressure. Columbia agreed to

reform disciplinary processes and review curricula for courses

on the Middle East, after Trump pulled $400 million in funding

over allegations the Ivy League school had not done enough to

combat antisemitism.

HARVARD DEFENDS 'REFUSAL TO SURRENDER'

In her brief order blocking the policy for two weeks, Burroughs

said Harvard had shown it could be harmed before there was an

opportunity to hear the case in full. The judge, an appointee of

Democratic President Barack Obama, scheduled hearings for May 27

and May 29 to consider next steps in the case. Burroughs is also

overseeing Harvard's lawsuit over the grant funds.

Harvard University President Alan Garber said the administration

was illegally seeking to assert control over the private

university's curriculum, faculty and student body.

"The revocation continues a series of government actions to

retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our

academic independence," Garber wrote in a letter on Friday to

the Harvard community.

In its complaint, Harvard said the revocation would force it

to retract admissions for thousands of people, and has thrown

"countless" academic programs, clinics, courses and research

laboratories into disarray, just a few days before graduation.

It said the revocation violates the First Amendment by using

coercion to police private speech.