Harvard amends lawsuit against Trump administration to include foreign student ban

Harvard adds US President Donald Trump’s proclamation barring new foreign students at the university from entering the United States to existing legal action against the administration, which it accuses of “retaliation” action.

“This is not the administration’s first attempt to sever Harvard from its international students… (It) is part of a concerted and escalating campaign of retaliation,” it says in an amended complaint filed in federal court.

In response, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson calls Harvard “a hotbed of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators,” claims that the school has previously denied.

“Harvard’s behavior has jeopardized the integrity of the entire US student and exchange visitor visa system and risks compromising national security. Now it must face the consequences of its actions,” Jackson says in a statement.