Penn, Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore back Harvard in lawsuit to defend international student enrollment

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The University of Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College and Swarthmore College have signed onto an amicus brief filed by the American Council on Education, supporting Harvard University in its federal lawsuit against an effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to block international students from enrolling at American universities.

The brief, which was filed on Jan. 20, argues that the administration’s actions against Harvard set a dangerous precedent for the future of higher education in the United States, 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.”

In statements to WHYY News, Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore reaffirmed their support of Harvard.

“Supporting international students is in the best interest of our college due to the significant value they bring to our campus community,” Charity Alinda, director of international student advising at Bryn Mawr, wrote. “We are committed to assisting any student who has chosen the U.S. as their destination for academic growth. Collaborating with other institutions on this journey benefits everyone involved.”

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. “Their experiences and world views deepen our understanding of complex global challenges, strengthen learning for all students, and help create an educational experience that prepares graduates to live and lead thoughtfully in an interconnected world.”

The University of Pennsylvania declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

The brief follows a lengthy legal battle between the Trump administration and Harvard. In May 2025, the Department of Homeland Security stripped Harvard of its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, blocking the university from enrolling international students. That included already-enrolled international students, who were told they “must transfer or lose their legal status.” According to DHS statements, the university leadership had created an unsafe environment for students by allowing “anti-American [and] pro-terrorist” conduct.

A week after the announcement, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, which allowed the university to continue enrolling international students.

Following the injunction, Trump issued a proclamation that barred individuals on nonimmigrant visas from studying or participating in exchange programs at Harvard for six months. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued another preliminary injunction, blocking the president’s proclamation. Since then, the Trump administration has appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The American Council on Education’s amicus brief urges the court to uphold the injunction.

Penn, Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore join 48 higher education institutions in signing the brief, which touts the benefits of international students to the U.S. The document states, in part: “Those who come from abroad to study and research in the United States enrich and strengthen our country in innumerable ways. These benefits are unattainable when schools are prohibited from enrolling international students because they do not pass the government’s ideological litmus test.”

International House Philadelphia has been an advocacy group for Greater Philadelphia’s population of international students since 1918. Its executive director, Bill Keyes, said that higher education institutions supporting Harvard in court “likely recognize that any policies jeopardizing international enrollment represent an existential risk.

“We cannot afford for students from around the world to second-guess whether their futures are secure here,” Keyes said.

Keyes noted that the federal government’s immigration crackdown and its position on international students has resulted in a 17% decrease in enrollment from overseas at U.S universities, as of fall 2025. According to a study from NAFSA: Association of International Educators, this drop is estimated to have cost the U.S. economy $1.1 billion and 23,000 jobs.

“The policy changes affecting employment-based immigration are already leading to the hemorrhaging of early-career talent the American economy really can’t afford to lose,” Keyes saod.

Jesse Ruhl, director of Philadelphia House, another advocacy organization, said international students are currently facing “overwhelming, troubling and even heartbreaking” levels of anxiety.

“That was already in place, of course, [due to] moving to a new country, a new school, a new language, new friends. But now on top of that, we have this sensation that international students are unwelcome here and that Big Brother is looking over their shoulder to see if they’re going to step out of line in any way, including their freedom of speech opportunities,” he said.

A study conducted by Campus Philly found that more than 20,000 international students enroll in colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area annually. Ruhl said there is a “difference between looking at the international community as statistics as opposed to meeting with them, having fellowship with them, sharing with them.”

Working with the international community is “a wonderful opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters throughout the world,” he said.

The brief warns of the potential future implications of allowing political ideology to govern university policy.

“Even if one agrees with the current administration’s criticisms of Harvard’s academic community, what happens when the shoe is on the other foot down the road?” the brief states. “The pendulum of politics will inevitably swing in another direction. When it does, are colleges and universities, together with their faculty, researchers and students, forced to swing with it?”

It is not clear when the court will rule on the lawsuit.