Judge extends order blocking Trump administration's ban on foreign students at Harvard

US President Donald Trump says he wants to cap elite university's foreign student enrolment at 15%

A graduating student wears their hat, decorated with a statement of support for foreign students, at Harvard University. Reuters

A US judge on Thursday extended an order blocking President Donald Trump's administration from barring Harvard University from enrolling foreign students.

District Court Judge Allison Burroughs said she wants “to maintain the status quo” and allow Harvard to continue hosting international students on visas, according to CNN.

Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security last week after Secretary Kristi Noem revoked its ability to host foreign students at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The order from DHS said already enrolled would need to move to new university programmes or leave the country.

Ms Burroughs told the legal teams representing Harvard and the Justice Department to work out an agreement to stop the revocation of the student visa programme for the time being.

Foreign students react to Trump's ban on international enrolments at Harvard

01:50

“It doesn’t need to be draconian, but I want to make sure it’s worded in such a way that nothing changes,” she said.

Before the hearing, the Trump administration withdrew its threats to immediately remove its certification under a federal programme to enrol non-US students, sending a notice that gave Harvard 30 days to provide evidence showing why the government should allow the university to admit them.

Mr Trump said from the Oval Office on Wednesday that Harvard should have a 15 per cent cap on foreign students, instead of the current 31 per cent.

“We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools [but] they can't get in because we have foreign students there,” he said.

The administration has also frozen billions of dollars in funding to the university and ended tens of millions in contracts after it refused to implement changes to policy following accusations of liberal bias and failing to control anti-Semitism on campus.

Harvard president given standing ovation amid Trump administration's ban on foreign students

01:05

Separately, it has also frozen student visa interviews at all consulates and embassies as the administration prepares to begin taking social media activity into consideration during the application process.

Meanwhile, Harvard held its commencement on Thursday, although the celebratory mood was somewhat muted by the battles with the Trump administration.

Harvard president Alan Garber, who has defended the university's actions, did not directly address the Trump administration threats when he spoke to graduates. But he did receive rousing applause when he referred to the university's global reach, noting that it is “just as it should be”.