Boston is pressuring Harvard University and other local colleges to funnel millions more into the city’s tax coffers, a push that’s becoming increasingly complicated as the Trump administration intensifies its attacks on higher education.

President Trump is trying to apply enough pressure to force the university to cave, while Harvard, a nearly 400-year-old institution, is aiming to play a long game against an aging president in his final term.

As the White House moves to revoke Harvard University’s certification to enroll foreign students — escalating a battle between the administration and the oldest and wealthiest college in the U.S. — President Donald Trump is falsely claiming that Harvard offers “remedial mathematics” on topics such as simple addition.

Cambridge and Boston are among the hundreds of sanctuary cities nationwide that the Department of Homeland Security accused of defying federal law on a list designed to expose localities that the Trump administration says are obstructing its immigration crackdown.

Boston is pushing local tax-exempt colleges including Harvard University to contribute more to city coffers by paying cash in lieu of property taxes. The city is seeking to lock in higher payments and longer commitments as it faces budget pressures due to plummeting office values downtown.

Harvard President Alan Garber, who has repeatedly defended the school's actions, didn't directly touch on the Trump administration threats.

Across Harvard’s schools, researchers described a wave of destruction following sweeping terminations of federally funded grants. More than $2.7 billion in cuts have come as part of the Trump administration’s targeted pressure campaign against Harvard.