President Trump issued a proclamation Wednesday night ordering his government to deny entry to the U.S. for any new foreign students who plan to study at Harvard University, saying the school has become a security risk.

It’s the latest escalation in the president’s battle with America’s oldest and richest college, and it comes after Homeland Security said Harvard has refused to share data on criminal incidents involving its foreign students.

After Homeland Security moved to shut down the school’s ability to host foreign students, Harvard sued and a judge put that decision on hold.

Mr. Trump’s new proclamation ups the ante, putting the full force of a presidential determination behind the attack.

“In my judgment, it presents an unacceptable risk to our Nation’s security for an academic institution to refuse to provide sufficient information, when asked, about known instances of misconduct and criminality committed by its foreign students,” Mr. Trump said.

The new ban applies to any new student who tries to enter the country to study at Harvard. Mr. Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio can decide whether current students should have their visas revoked.

Other schools aren’t affected by the ban, he said.

Some 6,800 foreign students were at Harvard this school year, accounting for about 27% of total enrollment.

The Trump administration has accused Harvard of not doing enough to tamp down on antisemitism on campus and of overseeing a general rise in campus crime.

Mr. Trump also said the school has made itself vulnerable to manipulation by China, which uses the student visa program to “collect information at elite universities.” And the president said Harvard has hosted members of a Chinese Communist Party paramilitary organization.

Those complaints echo ones raised by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in her effort to shut down the school’s membership in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

A judge has ordered Ms. Noem to preserve Harvard’s access to the SEVP while the department rules on Harvard’s compliance.

Mr. Trump’s order appears to circumvent that ruling.

Harvard, in a statement, said it will “protect its international students.”

“This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights,” the school said.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.