Harvard is suing the Trump administration after it revoked the university's ability to enrol international students, escalating a dispute between the White House and one of America's most prestigious institutions.

In the suit filed in Boston, the university called the administration's actions a "blatant violation" of the law.

It comes a day after officials at the Department of Homeland Security said they would be revoking Harvard's access to student visa programmes.

The Trump administration says Harvard has not done enough to fight antisemitism and change its hiring and admissions practices – allegations that the university has strongly denied.

"We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action," Harvard President Alan Garber said in a letter.

"The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government's illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body."

The university would also be applying for a temporary restraining order, he added.

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