Renowned constitutional law expert Alan Dershowitz said on Newsmax on Thursday that Harvard University is fighting a legal battle it can’t win.
U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs indicated Thursday, she would grant Harvard a preliminary injunction, effectively blocking the Trump administration’s move to bar the school from enrolling international students. During an appearance on “Finnerty,” Dershowitz laid out a detailed legal rationale for why Harvard’s challenge will fail, saying that the Constitution grants the federal government, and not the courts, the exclusive power to decide who is allowed to enter the United States.
“Let’s be clear, Harvard is going to lose this case. The United States government has the absolute, unequivocal right to decide who comes into the country and who doesn’t. That’s not up to the judicial branch. The judiciary has no role to play in determining who comes into the country. No one has a First Amendment right to come into the country to speak against Israel, to speak against the United States, to block student access to classes,” Dershowitz told host Rob Finnerty.
Dershowitz said, this is not an issue of academic freedom or constitutional speech protections but a matter of sovereign control over national borders.
“It’s a privilege to come into the United States, and the government has an absolute right to prevent people from coming in. There may be a dispute as to whether the legislative branch or the executive branch has the ultimate authority, but there is no dispute that judges have no authority whatsoever,” Dershowitz said.
Dershowitz drew a line between procedural oversight and ultimate decision-making power.
“They can demand due process. They can demand that the constitutional power of the president or of Congress be exercised properly, but they have no power over the ultimate decision who comes into the country and who doesn’t,” Dershowitz said. “So Harvard’s going to lose.”
The Trump administration notified the court before the hearing that it would grant Harvard 30 days to present evidence challenging the basis of the government’s decision. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Harvard officials of promoting anti-Semitism, enabling violence, and collaborating with the Chinese Communist Party.
The Daily Caller previously reported that the Department of Homeland Security stripped Harvard of its authority to enroll and retain foreign students, but a federal judge quickly stepped in to halt the move. Despite the injunction, the administration’s termination of Harvard’s federal grant remains in effect.
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