DOJ to review compliance with anti-DEI admissions standards at California colleges and universities
Since the 2023 Supreme Court ruling, now reinforced by government initiatives, colleges and universities cannot discriminate on the basis of race in admitting new students.
University walkout protest at UCLA.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) will investigate the admissions policies of several California public universities, Pam Bondi's team announced Thursday.
The initiative announced by the DOJ is a review of compliance by some universities singled out for favoring certain social groups for more favorable admission to their schools.
The White House has already announced in the past that, in its condemnation of these diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, it would not allow factors such as racial origin to be assessed as they are in higher education admissions standards.
The DOJ relies on the Supreme Court's ruling against affirmative action in higher education, a practice that was intended to favor minorities. Following Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellow of Harvard Coll., 600 U.S. 181 (2023), colleges and universities are prohibited from using DEI discrimination in selecting students for admission.
The investigation will look at processes on the campuses of U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Irvine and U.C. Los Angeles, as well as Stanford University.
"President Trump and I are dedicated to ending unlawful discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity in the country," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.
"Every student in America deserves to be judged solely on their hard work, intellect, and character, not the color of their skin," Bondi added.
Tension between government and universities
The White House recently threatened Columbia University with a $400 million freeze on its resources on the grounds that it allowed demonstrations against Israel's war in Gaza to run freely at the university.
The university yielded to a series of conditions related to controlling such protests in order to maintain a communication bridge with Washington and recover funds.
In the two months under the Trump administration, several universities closed their offices dedicated to diversity issues, reworded statements to eliminate mentions of the DEI and even fired personnel linked to these types of initiatives.
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