BURSTThe Trump administration said Wednesday it would investigate five universities over scholarship programs for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
The Education Department probe involves the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska Omaha, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University.
It comes after the Legal Insurrection Foundation’s Equal Protection Project submitted complaints to the department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR), according to a press release.
Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said the scholarships aimed to “deny our fellow citizens the opportunity to compete for scholarships because they were born in the United States.”
“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,” Trainor said in a Wednesday statement.
William A. Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project, said it was "gratified" to see the Education Department follow up on its complaint.
“Protecting equal access to education includes protecting the rights of American-born students," he said. “Discrimination against American-born students must not be tolerated.”
The DACA immigration policy ushered in under the Obama administration permits children who entered the country illegally with their parents prior to June 15, 2012, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation.
The Wednesday release from the Education Department said it will not only investigate scholarships for DACA recipients but also financial support offered to students based on race and sexual orientation.
It marks the latest fight between the Trump administration and universities.
Earlier this year, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights revoked federal funds from Columbia University and Harvard University over an alleged antisemitic culture on their campuses.
In response to the federal actions, the University of Michigan and other Big Ten schools created a "mutual defense compact" to fight against Trump’s threats to cut federal funding.