On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that the State Department and the Education Department would launch new investigations and continue to take action against American colleges and universities from multiple aspects. The new series of investigations is the latest in months of pressure from the federal government on elite colleges and universities to make them more aligned with the government's political priorities.
A corner of Harvard University's campus
The State Department announced Wednesday that it has launched an investigation to determine whether Harvard University is eligible to participate in its exchange visitor program. The program covers a wide range of visa categories for students, professors, intern workers and other non-tourist visitors.
The State Department did not explain why it launched the investigation, such as whether there were specific complaints, but said in a statement that universities sponsoring exchange visitors must "clearly demonstrate a commitment to the principles of cultural exchange and mutual understanding" that underlie the program.
On the same day, the Ministry of Education announced another investigation into five universities. The investigation focused on whether the special scholarships provided by these universities to undocumented students "prefer foreign students over domestic students."
The survey included the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University.
"Neither the Trump administration's 'America First' policy nor the prohibition on national origin discrimination in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 will allow colleges to deny citizens the opportunity to compete for scholarships because they were born in the United States," said Craig Traynor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education.
The investigations are based on complaints filed with the Office for Civil Rights by the Equal Protection Project, a division of the Legal Resistance Foundation, a conservative advocacy group.
In a highly unusual move, the Education Department included a statement from the advocacy group with its official announcement about the investigation.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) also said it is investigating other scholarship programs at these schools that allegedly exclude specific groups, including scholarships at Western Michigan University for "African Americans, Native Americans, or Hispanics" and scholarships at the University of Louisville for "LGBTQ+ students of color."
Four of the five universities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the University of Michigan said: "The school has received a notification letter related to this matter and has no further comment at this time."
University of Michigan
A movement to reshape higher education
Wednesday’s announcement is the latest step in the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on colleges and universities, which is gradually expanding to include public universities and state colleges, to identify and punish elite institutions whose policies are inconsistent with the administration’s priorities.
Harvard has been the target of multiple investigations, and legal battles and private negotiations between the school and the administration continue over the Trump administration's freeze on federal funds.
A spokesperson for Harvard University told reporters that the latest investigation "is another retaliatory step by the government that violates Harvard University's First Amendment rights."
Last month, another federal investigation found Harvard violated the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students. Trump said in May that he wanted to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status.
The administration has also moved to freeze federal funding at several other Ivy League schools. Trump has said he is considering redirecting the funds to vocational and technical schools.
Earlier this month, the House Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas to Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania to investigate alleged violations of antitrust laws at the universities regarding their tuition and financial aid policies. Prior to this, the committee sent letters to all eight Ivy League schools requesting relevant documents.
In June, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan resigned after the Department of Justice asked for his resignation amid an investigation into the school’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
More than a dozen schools have come under scrutiny, including Columbia University, Northwestern University and the University of California, Berkeley.