The president had issued a proclamation targeting international students who seek to enroll at Harvard. The moves escalated a legal battle between the two parties.
Harvard University, responding swiftly to President Trump’s proclamation barring international students from enrolling this week, filed a new claim against the administration Thursday evening.
It was also expected to ask a federal judge to block the order immediately.
The White House executive order, issued at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, was the third time in the past month that the Trump administration has tried to use its power to ban international enrollment at Harvard in what the university has said is a violation of its First Amendment rights.
In court papers, Harvard accused the White House of trying to circumvent an earlier court order that had blocked the Department of Homeland Security from banning international enrollment at Harvard. The university said that President Trump had violated the law again by invoking the executive power of the presidency against the school when the agency’s efforts had failed.
Harvard has become a focal point of the administration’s effort to conform higher education to Mr. Trump’s political agenda.
Alan M. Garber, Harvard’s president, issued a statement shortly after the court filing saying that Harvard’s international office was reaching out to students and scholars who might be affected by the White House action.
He added that the university was developing “contingency plans” to ensure that international students and scholars could continue to pursue their work at Harvard this summer and through the coming academic year.
