The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has launched investigations into five universities regarding alleged national origin discrimination in scholarship offerings. The institutions under scrutiny are the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska Omaha, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan, and Western Michigan University. The focus is on whether these universities provide scholarships exclusively for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or undocumented students, potentially violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The investigations stem from complaints by the Legal Insurrection Foundation’s Equal Protection Project. The project aims to uphold equal protection under the law and prevent any form of government discrimination.
“On January 21, 2025, President Trump promised that ‘every single day of the Trump Administration, [he] will, very simply, put America first.’ Neither the Trump Administration’s America first policies nor the Civil Right Act of 1964’s prohibition on national origin discrimination permit universities to deny our fellow citizens the opportunity to compete for scholarships because they were born in the United States,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. “As we mark President Trump’s historic six months back in the White House, we are expanding our enforcement efforts to protect American students and lawful residents from invidious national origin discrimination of the kind alleged here.”
William A. Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project stated: “Protecting equal access to education includes protecting the rights of American-born students. At the Equal Protection Project, we are gratified that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is acting on our complaints regarding scholarships that excluded American-born students. Discrimination against American-born students must not be tolerated.”
In addition to investigating scholarships tied to DACA or undocumented status, OCR will also examine other scholarships allegedly excluding students based on race and color.
Specific scholarships mentioned include:
- University of Louisville's Sagar Patagundi Scholarship
- University of Nebraska Omaha's Dreamer’s Pathway Scholarship
- University of Miami's U Dreamers Program
- University of Michigan's Dreamer Scholarship
- Western Michigan University's WMU Undocumented/DACA Scholarship
Additional allegedly impermissible scholarships cited include:
- University of Louisville's Dawn Wilson Scholarship and Louisville Tango Festival Scholarship
- University of Nebraska Omaha's HDR Scholarship
- Western Michigan University's Elissa Gatlin Endowed Scholarship
