Harvard University sued the Trump administration on Friday after having its ability to host foreign students revoked. The move marked the latest escalation in the ongoing back-and-forth between the president and one of the nation’s most prestigious universities.
"We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action," Alan M. Garber, Harvard's president, wrote in a letter released to the public on Friday morning. "It imperils the futures of thousands of students and scholars across Harvard and serves as a warning to countless others at colleges and universities throughout the country who have come to America to pursue their education and fulfill their dreams."
The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that it was taking away Harvard’s certification as part of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which would block the school from admitting any new international students and force all current foreign students at Harvard to transfer or risk losing their ability to legally remain in the United States.
"This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media, citing heavily disputed accusations about how Harvard has handled controversial issues on its campus — particularly protests against Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the order from taking effect on Friday morning and scheduled hearings to consider its legality for later this month.
President Trump has mounted a sweeping campaign to impose his ideological worldview on some of the country's most prominent universities, revoking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding from schools like Columbia, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. But no college has come under attack in the way that Harvard has.
Over the course of the past few months, America’s oldest university has lost billions in federal grant money, faced demands that it allow the government to dramatically overhaul its operations, been targeted by a cavalcade of investigations and had its tax-exempt status threatened — all before its ability to welcome international students was put at risk.
Here’s a timeline of the most aggressive actions the Trump administration has taken against Harvard and how the school has responded.
March 31: The administration's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism announces it will conduct a "comprehensive review" of nearly $9 billion in contracts and grants that Harvard is slated to receive from the federal government over the school's alleged "failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination."
April 11: The administration sends Harvard a letter containing a wide-ranging slate of demands, including calling for the school to reform its admissions and hiring policies, end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices and grant the government extensive new authority over university operations and education.
April 14: Harvard announces that it is refusing to comply with those demands, insisting that it would not "surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights." The administration responds by revoking $2.2 billion in federal research grants.
April 16: DHS launches an investigation into Harvard's international student enrollment, threatens to revoke its ability to host them and demands that the university share comprehensive internal information about each foreign student with the administration.
April 17: The Department of Education announces an investigation into donations Harvard has received from foreign sources, accusing the university of failing to accurately disclose the money it gets from overseas.
April 19: The Department of Health and Human Services announces a comprehensive civil rights investigation into all activities on Harvard's campus since the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in order to determine whether the school is violating federal antidiscrimination laws.
April 20: The administration reportedly moves to revoke an additional $1 billion in health research funding for Harvard and its research partners.
April 21: Harvard sues to block the funding freeze. The lawsuit condemns the "broad attack" on the university and argues that the administration broke the law by violating the school's "academic independence."
April 25: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announces an investigation into Harvard's hiring practices, accusing the school of discriminating against "white, Asian, male, or straight employees, applicants, and training program participants."
April 28: The Education Department and HHS announce a joint investigation into allegations of "race-based discrimination" in the operations of the Harvard Law Review.
May 2: Trump says that he is revoking Harvard's tax-exempt status. It's unclear whether this will actually happen, however, because federal law explicitly bars presidents from directing the Internal Revenue Service to review or change any taxpayer's or institution's tax status.
May 5: The Education Department declares that Harvard is disqualified from receiving any federal grant funding in the future.
May 12: Harvard releases a letter in which it acknowledges "common ground" it shares with the administration and expresses hope that its "partnership" with the government can be restored. That same day, the Justice Department launches an investigation into whether Harvard's admissions practices violate antidiscrimination laws.
May 13: The administration's joint task force revokes an additional $450 million in grant funding over claims that Harvard has "repeatedly failed to confront the pervasive race discrimination and anti-Semitic harassment plaguing its campus."
May 19: Another $60 million in medical research grant funding is canceled by HHS.
May 22: DHS announces that Harvard can no longer host international students.
May 23: Harvard sues to block the order. A federal judge temporarily rules in Harvard's favor, preventing the order from going into effect for at least two weeks to allow a more thorough legal challenge to get underway.
