Harvard university: State Dept resumes processing student visas after judge’s ruling

The US State Department directed all US missions abroad and consular sections to resume processing Harvard University student and exchange visitor visas after a federal judge in Boston last week temporarily blocked President Trump's ban on foreign students at the Ivy League institution.

In a diplomatic cable sent on June 6 and signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department cited parts of the judge's decision, saying the fresh directive was "in accordance with" the temporary restraining order.

Under that order granted to Harvard late on Thursday, US District Judge Allison Burroughs blocked Trump's proclamation from taking effect pending further litigation of the matter.

Trump had cited national security concerns as justification for barring international students from entering the US to pursue studies at Harvard.

Trump administration has launched a multi-pronged attack on the nation's oldest university, freezing billions of dollars in grants and other funding. Harvard argues the administration is retaliating against it for refusing to accede to demands to control school's governance, curriculum and ideology of its faculty and students.