Swarthmore College is supporting Harvard University’s federal lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s effort to keep international students from enrolling in American universities.
It joined Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania in signing an amicus brief filed Jan. 20 by the American Council on Education, writes Rana Rastegan for WHYY.
The brief argues that taking action against Harvard for enrolling international students sets a dangerous precedent, stating, “if the federal government may punish a university for its perceived ideology or that of its students, then the marketplace of ideas collapses into a monopoly of dogma.”
Alisa Giardinelli, vice president of communications at Swarthmore, wrote that the amicus brief “aligns with our mission and our deeply held belief that all of us benefit from engaging with diverse perspectives.”
“Every day, our international students enrich our campus community and society more broadly in countless ways,” she wrote.
The amicus asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to uphold a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs blocking a proclamation from Trump that barred individuals on nonimmigrant visas from studying or participating in exchange programs at Harvard for six months.
Read more about the legal challenge to the Trump proclamation at WHYY,
