Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has thrown the Commonwealth's weight behind Harvard University in its legal dispute with the Trump Administration. According to a statement from Mass.gov, Campbell filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court, backing Harvard's motion for a preliminary injunction to halt the administration's dismantling of the school's certification under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).
At the center of this controversy, the Trump Administration abruptly notified Harvard on May 22 that it is pulling their SEVP certification, a move that effectively disrupts the academic trajectory of the institution's international student body. "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," AG Campbell told Mass.gov in a reported statement.
The brief from AG Campbell orbits around the argument that this move not only endangers Harvard but also jeopardizes the entire Massachusetts academic ecosystem. Citing figures from the 2023-2024 school year, Campbell pointed out that Massachusetts hosted over 82,000 international students who collectively supported thousands of jobs and injected an estimated $3.9 billion into the state's economy annually.
Further, AG Campbell sees the revocation as part of a broader campaign to intimidate and penalize educational institutions critical of the Trump Administration's policy line. Harvard has already been targeted through the termination of grants and contracts, as well as threats against the university's non-profit status. "AG Campbell urges the Court to view the SEVP revocation in the larger context of the Trump Administration’s effort to instill fear and punish students and academics for expressing disagreement with the Administration’s policies," as stated by Mass.gov.
In her motion, AG Campbell states that international students contribute both economically and culturally by promoting global awareness and cross-cultural understanding in educational settings. Her legal action seeks a court-ordered pause on the implementation of the Trump Administration’s policy, aiming to ensure that international scholars at Harvard can continue their studies without immediate changes to their immigration status.
