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Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell voiced her support for Harvard in an amicus brief filed Wednesday, denouncing the Trump administration’s attempts to revoke the University’s ability to enroll international students.
Campbell requested that the court grant Harvard’s motion for a preliminary injunction, which would block the Trump administration from revoking Harvard’s certification to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. The certification grants the University’s its ability to host its more than 6,000 international students.
The Trump administration revoked Harvard’s SEVP certification in late May, prompting the University to file a lawsuit and a temporary restraining order less than a day later. Hours after the lawsuit was filed, United States District Judge Allison D. Burroughs granted the order.
Burroughs was set to rule on the preliminary injunction at a hearing last Thursday — held in Boston during Harvard’s Commencement ceremony — but she punted the decision to a future hearing, instead opting to extend the TRO.
Campbell condemned the Trump administration in a statement accompanying last week’s brief, saying that the move against international students was a political act of revenge against the University.
“It’s clear that by revoking Harvard’s ability to enroll international students – and by threatening the legal status of current students – the Trump Administration is seeking political retribution against an institution that rightly refuses to give up its academic independence,” Campbell wrote.
Campbell emphasized that the SEVP revocation would indirectly harm the state, as “Harvard serves as a major economic driver, hub of innovation, and leading global institution that attracts talent and investment to Massachusetts.”
Harvard — the fourth-largest employer in the state — contributes medical, technological, and scientific innovations that “directly benefit Massachusetts businesses, healthcare institutions, and the broader community,” according to the brief.
“Any harm to Harvard’s ability to attract and retain top global talent translates directly into tangible and lasting harm on the Commonwealth,” the brief read.
The brief also noted several other actions from the Trump administration against international students, including the detention of Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk and attempts to deport HMS researcher Kseniia Petrova. Campbell filed an amicus brief in support of Petrova two weeks ago, calling for her release.
“The Trump Administration’s policy of punitive immigration enforcement — whether through seizing and detaining students whose political views it disagrees with, like Ms. Öztürk; detaining academics who fail to declare nontoxic substances, like Ms. Petrova; or effecting mass terminations of student records, which the administration could not even defend — is unlawful and creates an atmosphere of fear amongst all immigrants, including students and academics, in Massachusetts,” Campbell wrote.
Other Massachusetts officials have also criticized President Donald Trump’s spat with Harvard’s international community, including Senator Elizabeth A. Warren (D-Mass.), who wrote on the social media platform X that “Harvard is right to fight back.”
“Donald Trump is attacking Harvard for refusing to carry out his political agenda. Now, innocent students are caught in the crossfire,” Warren wrote.
Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) echoed Warren’s statement, warning the move signaled a shift to “authoritarianism,” a label he has used frequently in calling out President Trump’s actions throughout his second term.
“Bullying students and schools to provoke fear and silence dissent is how we trade democracy and freedom for authoritarianism,” Markey wrote on X. “This will affect nearly a third of Harvard's students. We cannot be silent.”
Massachusetts Governor Maura T. Healey ’92 — who has backed an effort pushing alumni to sign their own amicus brief in support of the University’s legal fight against sweeping federal funding cuts — wrote that the SEVP revocation would “make us weaker and less competitive.”
“Mass has 85K international students here to study, provide care, research cures, invent tech, start businesses, create jobs and grow our economy,” Healey wrote on X. “This is bigger than Harvard. I’m glad they’re pushing back — and winning.”
NAFSA, a professional organization focused on international education, estimates there are 82,000 international students in Massachusetts.
Campbell’s brief concludes with a warning: If President Trump’s actions against international students are successful, Massachusetts will suffer.
“If the Administration’s actions are allowed to stand, international students may not come to Massachusetts, and the Commonwealth’s colleges and universities — Harvard and beyond — will lose their academic freedom and standing as global beacons for education,” the brief read. “We cannot afford to let that happen.”
—Staff writer Megan L. Blonigen can be reached at megan.blonigen@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @MeganBlonigen.
