A federal judge halted the Trump administration’s collection of admissions data from about 200 public colleges by issuing a preliminary injunction. Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts said the ACTS requirement—covering applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students across seven admission cycles—likely risks being “arbitrary and capricious,” with institutions facing “immediate irreparable harm” if forced to comply. The injunction applies to public institutions in 17 states that jointly filed suit in March. Plaintiffs argued that the mandate creates unreasonable administrative burdens and violates laws including the Administrative Procedure Act, while the administration rejected multiple comments from college officials. For campus leaders, the ruling delays compliance planning and increases uncertainty around timelines for data submission to IPEDS-linked reporting. It also keeps litigation risk active for selective public colleges while the broader debate over admissions transparency and applicant data collection continues.