Judge blocks Trump bid to bar Harvard's international students

For the second time in less than a week, a federal judge in Boston rejected efforts by the Trump administration to bar international students at Harvard University, blocking a presidential proclamation that would prevent new students from abroad from enrolling at the school.

President Trump had sought to bar the students using a law designed to safeguard national security. In a strongly worded ruling on Monday, Judge Allison D Burroughs sided with Harvard lawyers who had argued that such presidential power was intended to be used against foreign enemies, not international students.

The judge's order temporarily stops the proclamation from going into effect. Burroughs issued a similar decision Friday when she temporarily blocked another effort by Trump govt to keep international students out of Harvard through other means.

In her ruling Monday, Burroughs said the issues at stake involved "core constitutional rights that must be safeguarded - freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of speech" and that free speech, particularly in the academic arena, "must be zealously defended and not taken for granted... Govt's misplaced efforts to control a reputable academic institution and squelch diverse viewpoints seemingly because they are, in some instances, opposed to this administration's own views, threaten these rights."

Both orders will remain in effect until Harvard's lawsuit over the enrollment of international students is resolved. White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Harvard said it would "continue to defend its rights - and the rights of its students and scholars." nyt