DHS barred Harvard from enrolling international students. Here’s what’s at stake and what’s still uncertain

CNN The Trump administration s decision on Thursday to revoke Harvard University s ability to enroll international students raises major questions about the impact on the school population and its academic research Here are answers to key questions about how the decision could affect the school What is Harvard s international attendee population The decision drastically escalates the university s dispute with the White House over federal funding The Trump administration froze billion in funds last month when Harvard revealed it would not concede to White House demands including reforming its international candidate initiative In the - academic year there were international students enrolled at Harvard making up roughly of its total enrollment The decision by the Department of Homeland Safeguard will impact a substantial portion of the university s area with its international academic population comprising people the school announced Harvard declared it is committed to maintaining our ability to host our international students and scholars who hail from more than countries and enrich the University and this nation according to a message on its website What are the options for current international students at Harvard In a letter to Harvard Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem reported the revocation of the school s Pupil and Exchange Visitor Initiative certification means it is prohibited from enrolling any aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status for the upcoming academic school year It also means existing foreign students with that status must transfer to another university in order to maintain their nonimmigrant status the letter commented Educational institutions are required to have SEVP certification with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in order to admit applicants who have an F- or M- candidate visa Institutions are required to provide up-to-date basic information about each apprentice to SEVP including their address and academic status International students at institutions that have lost their SEVP certification are typically allowed to try to transfer to a different certified school before they must leave the country Guidelines set by ICE say that SEVP-certified schools have serious legal obligations to the aspirant and the US authorities SEVP will exercise the full authority of the U S establishment to protect you and to institute sanctions against any school that disregards its responsibilities according to the ICE fact sheet Hundreds of international students have had their participant records known as SEVIS records canceled and later reinstated in the database DHS uses to track their immigration status and maintain information on SEVP Bradley Bruce Banias is an attorney who represents multiple of those students who sued the administration over the termination of their statuses ICE continues to prioritize politics over the rule of law apparently ignoring binding regulations and again terrorizing foreign national students he recounted CNN Thursday Banias who does not represent any students at Harvard suggested a few students might opt to apply for tourist visas so they can remain in the US as the affair plays out with the hope a judge will intervene and issue a temporary restraining order over the unprecedented decision Is the move legal The latest move by the Trump administration has gone so far in a way that will certainly draw a very strong legal challenge disclosed Elliot Williams CNN legal analyst and former counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee There are well-established legal processes in place for revoking a school s certification according to Williams who commented it doesn t appear the administration has complied with them It s still unclear when and how the guidelines will be implemented but key stakeholders the university s leaders students and faculty would have a strong basis for a legal challenge fighting against it mentioned Williams Separately on Thursday US District Judge Jeffrey White of the federal district court in San Francisco blocked the Trump administration from terminating the legal status allowing foreign students to inquiry at colleges and universities nationwide The federal judge issued the preliminary injunction after the administration moved to tamper with students SEVIS records putting them at jeopardy of deportation The Trump administration backed down on the initiative last month amid numerous legal challenges after cancelling the records of thousands of international students Judge White reported in his ruling he does not find it speculative to conclude that in the absence of an injunction the administration would abruptly re-terminate SEVIS records without notice However Thursday s ruling only applies to individual cases and not at the university level it remains to be seen whether the Trump administration s newest move against Harvard will be challenged in court How will the decision impact the university s research Specific Harvard staff worry draining the university of its foreign students would debilitate the academic prowess of both the institution and potentially American academia as a whole We are working fast to provide guidance and endorsement to members of our locality This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard group and our country and undermines Harvard s academic and research mission university spokesperson Jason Newton explained Harvard economics professor and former Obama administration official Jason Furman called the measure horrendous on every level It is impossible to imagine Harvard without our amazing international students They are a huge benefit to everyone here to innovation and the United States more broadly Furman reported Higher training is one of America s great exports and a key source of our soft power I hope this is stopped fast before the damage gets any worse Another professor familiar with the situation notified CNN that if the strategy goes into effect he fears multiple labs will empty out Specific Harvard research is already facing direct impacts from last month s federal funding freeze Harvard Curative School is preparing for achievable layoffs and the School of Masses Robustness which subsequently received three stop-work orders on research is winding down two leases in off-campus buildings How will it impact Harvard financially International students are more likely to pay full tuition at US colleges in part because bulk aren t eligible for federal financial aid bringing essential funding to colleges More than three-quarters of international students primarily fund their coaching themselves through their family or through current employment the Institute of International Mentoring discovered Less than one-fifth received primary funding from their US college or university Noem announced in April that Harvard relies heavily on foreign aspirant funding to build and maintain their substantial endowment While Harvard is the nation s oldest and richest university with a massive billion endowment that could help supplement any cuts experts and a review of Harvard s financials show the challenges with tapping into that endowment CNN previously stated Endowments can t be accessed at any time like bank accounts They must be maintained in perpetuity and are largely legally restricted Harvard says it has been funding two-thirds of its operating expenses from other sources including federal research grants and pupil tuition Roughly of Harvard s endowment is earmarked for financial aid scholarships faculty chairs academic programs or other projects according to the school The remaining is intended to sustain the institution for years to come Several of the unrestricted money is tied up in illiquid assets such as in hedge funds private equity and real estate that can t be easily sold Could Harvard regain its ability to enroll foreign students As of now the only way Harvard can regain its ability to enroll international students would be to submit detailed records of such students participating in events deemed illegal dangerous and threatening from over the past five years to DHS The school will have hours to do so Noem warned in her letter Thursday Noem specified that records should include any disciplinary actions as well as audio and video footage of any protest activity involving foreign students on campus Providing materially false fictitious or fraudulent information may subject you to criminal prosecution the secretary wrote Other criminal and civil sanctions may also apply How are key stakeholders reacting to the news Harvard learner body co-president Abdullah Shahid Sial a rising junior had flown to Tokyo for a conference when the news broke When he regained internet access he was flooded with messages including apologies from friends International students he reported in a announcement happen to represent the best of the best in their own respective countries and them being treated in such a dehumanized and disrespectful manner is very sad to see Sial notified CNN he s working with Harvard s administration to actively help affected students including helping them explore transfer options if needed Harvard s chapter of the American Association of University Professors noted in a declaration after the announcement it condemns in the strongest doable terms the Trump administration s unconstitutional assault on our international students The group of professors explained the decision expands the Trump administration s terrorizing assault on international students and scholars in the United States International students are essential members of the Harvard neighborhood the announcement continued Australia s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd stated the move will be distressing for Harvard s plenty of Australian students and is offering them consular advice as they closely monitor the situation We also intend to engage the administration more broadly on the impact of this decision for Australian students and their families both at Harvard and at other campuses across the United States Rudd reported