On January 20, the College joined 47 other colleges and universities in supporting Harvard University’s lawsuit against the federal government’s decision to cancel their visa program for international students.

Last May, the federal government attempted to revoke Harvard’s ability to participate in the visa program. Harvard responded by challenging the decision in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, where the ban was prevented from going into effect via injunction.

To demonstrate their support for Harvard, 48 institutions wrote an amicus brief explaining the benefits international scholars bring to campuses nationwide and warning of the harms that could come from jeopardizing such programs.

“This long-standing investment in foreign-born talent has paid off many times over. Student visa recipients have helped make the United States’ colleges and universities world-class research institutions tackling the world’s most pressing problems,” the brief states. “These students have gone on to cure diseases, invent transformational technologies, and found companies that have fueled America’s growth.”

The brief outlines three main arguments: that foreign-born talent has enhanced America’s status as a global leader, that Congress created the student visa program to attract this talent and that preventing universities from enrolling international students would stymie American progress.

“Though immigrants comprise roughly 15% of the U.S. population, they account for a quarter of all patents and almost 30% of our Nation’s recent Nobel Prize winners in the sciences,” the brief states.

The federal government has appealed the district court order, which is now pending before the First Circuit Court of Appeals.