Trump Officials Probe Five Universities Over DACA Scholarships

The Department of Education said it opened investigations into five universities to determine whether the schools were granting scholarships only for undocumented students as the Trump administration expands its immigration crackdown and efforts to overhaul US higher education.

The department on Wednesday said the probe was focused on determining whether the schools were granting scholarships for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on national origin.

The targets of the probe include the University of Michigan, University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Miami, and Western Michigan University. Other colleges have also been subjected to similar inquiries.

Craig Trainor, the department's acting assistant secretary for civil rights, said in a statement that the administration's policies and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not “permit universities to deny our fellow citizens the opportunity to compete for scholarships because they were born in the United States.”

The investigations were based on complaints submitted to its Office for Civil Rights alleging that certain scholarships exclude American students over their national origin, the department said in a statement. The majority of the scholarships under scrutiny include programs that provide support for undocumented students or those with DACA status, but other programs being targeted offer funding for LGBTQ students or people of color.

The federal program known as DACA was established by former President Barack Obama to offer protection for undocumented migrants who came to the US as children and has drawn criticism from President Donald Trump. 

The Education Department's action is at the nexus of two of the Trump administration's top priorities, cracking down on undocumented migration and overhauling policies at US universities. While Trump has targeted a number of elite academic institutions in the Ivy League or located in blue states in a bid to put his imprint on higher education, the latest targets also include schools in regions of the country more supportive of his agenda.

A Supreme Court ruling in 2023 that effectively barred the use of race as a factor in university admissions has emboldened conservatives to challenge diversity programs in higher education for both students and faculty.