A US judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from revoking Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students, a policy the White House says is a reaction to anti-Semitism at the Ivy League school.

Harvard says the move is part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to retaliate against it for refusing to “surrender its academic independence.”

The order provides temporary relief to thousands of international students who were faced with being forced to transfer under a policy that the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university called a “blatant violation” of the US Constitution and other federal laws, and said would have an “immediate and devastating effect” on the university and more than 7,000 visa holders.

Nicole Anslover, a presidential historian and associate professor at Florida Atlantic University, says the potential impact on Harvard is “immense” since about a quarter of Harvard’s student body comes from outside the US.

The move was the latest escalation in a broader battle between Harvard and the White House, as Trump seeks to compel universities, law firms, news media, courts and other institutions that value independence from partisan politics to align with his agenda. Trump and fellow Republicans have long accused elite universities of left-wing bias.