A federal judge, Dennis Saylor, has barred U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing its new rule limiting how long ‌Nigerians and other international students and journalists can stay in the U.S. without applying for extensions.

The judge on Monday ruled to block the Department of Homeland Security’s new rule limiting foreign students’ stay in America, calling it “exceptionally weak”.

Mr Saylor said that over the years millions of foreign students and researchers have come to the U.S., leading to “groundbreaking research in science, medicine, and technology, substantial economic growth, and a host of other benefits, often on a vast scale”.

The judge further said that if the Trump administration’s new policy targeting international students had taken effect, it would affect many higher institutions and the U.S. economy.

“The damage to the higher education system and to the economy of the United States is likely to be catastrophic,” the judge stated, adding that top U.S. universities and institutions, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, have large populations of foreign students.

The DHS argued that it adopted the policy to limit the period of stay for international students, citing national security and fraud in the visa programme.

DHS general counsel, James Percival, in a statement on Monday, criticised the judge’s ruling, arguing that U.S. government should not “permit rampant abuse of our immigration system”, claiming that foreigners “come on a student visa, take one class per semester, and stay here for decades”.

Under the new rule, which was blocked from taking effect, F visas for international students and J visas permitting visitors to work in the U.S. would last just four years, while I visas for journalists, which last many years, would be valid for only 240 days.

Miriam Feldblum, head of one of the plaintiffs, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, said Mr Saylor’s ruling considered the damage the new rule will cause international students, U.S. higher institutions, and the economy at large.

“While the case continues, this relief preserves the longstanding system that enables our colleges and universities — and our country — to attract, educate, and retain global talent,” Ms Feldblum said.