In a significant legal victory for international students, a U.S. federal judge has halted a Trump-era policy that threatened to revoke student visas and deport thousands of foreign students, including a substantial number from India. The ruling, issued on May 22 by Judge Jeffrey White of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, denounced the Department of Homeland Security’s actions as disruptive and likely unlawful.
The decision came just hours after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) abruptly rescinded Harvard University’s certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), an unprecedented move that would have stripped the university of its authority to enroll international students. This action, widely condemned in academic circles, was described by Harvard officials as “unlawful” and a direct threat to their educational mission.
Judge White, a George W. Bush appointee, delivered a strongly worded 21-page opinion criticizing the administration’s approach, stating that DHS officials had “uniformly wreaked havoc” on the legal status and futures of international students. Though the court did not directly rule on the specific case involving Harvard, legal analysts told The New York Times that the decision severely undercuts the administration’s broader legal footing.
The move has brought considerable relief to Harvard and other institutions that rely on international students for both academic diversity and financial stability. Harvard alone hosts more than 10,000 international students and scholars, including 788 from India for the 2024–25 academic year.
