Students ponder Harvard future as judge blocks Trump's ban
發佈日期: 2025-05-24 21:37
TVB News
A federal judge has blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's administration from cutting off Harvard University's enrollment of foreign students.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers called Trump's crackdown on Harvard "steps towards tyranny."
In its lawsuit filed earlier Friday in federal court in Boston, Harvard University said the move by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to cut off enrollment of foreign students at the university violates the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution.
The lawsuit said it will have an "immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders."
Harvard said the move has "thrown campus into disarray days before graduation."
It said "future applicants may shy away from applying out of fear of further reprisals from the U.S. government."
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs puts the sanction against Harvard on hold, pending the lawsuit.
Still many foreign students expressed concern about their futures at Harvard.
Canadian student Aleksandra Conevska said: "I have mentally been planning out a life here, and now it feels very disorienting to have to try to think about whether or not I'm welcome here or whether there is a stable future here."
"We're all panicking, we're all overwhelmed," said Egyptian student Walid Akef
U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the Harvard situation at the White House. However, his press conference got off to an awkward start as he was interrupted while discussing tariffs.
Trump said: "And I like Canada very much but we don't want have Canada making... (mobile phone rings). It is a phone call, do you mind? (pretends to answer). Ok, it is only a congressman."
(Reporter: Who was it?) "I'd let you know, actually ...It is a different congressman. They are all congratulating us."
On Harvard, Trump said the university "will have to change its ways" going forward.
He questioned the academic qualifications of some foreign students admitted to the university as well as their commitment to American values.
Said Trump: "No, wait a minute. So, why would they get in? How can somebody that can't add or has very basic skills, how do they get into Harvard? Why are they there? And then you see the same people picketing and screaming at the United States and screaming at, you like their antisemitic or their something. We don't want troublemakers here."
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, a former Harvard president, called Trump's crackdown on the university "steps towards tyranny."
He said: "These are steps away from democracy and towards tyranny and if an institution with all Harvard's resources and endowment of more than 50 billion dollars all its prestige, it's incredible network of alumni, presidents, Nobel Prize Winners, Chief Executive Officers, great artists. If Harvard can't resist these steps towards tyranny, who can?"
