U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi on Thursday ordered a federal probe into admissions policies at Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley, particularly their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Justice demanded compliance as it has launched a review investigation into both schools, along with UC Los Angeles and UC Irvine, noting that "colleges and universities are prohibited from using DEI discrimination in selecting students for admission."
"President Trump and I are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country," Bondi said in a statement. "Every student in America deserves to be judged solely based on their hard work, intellect, and character, not the color of their skin."
The DOJ claimed that elite colleges and universities in the U.S. "prioritized racial quotas over equality of opportunity, dividing Americans and discriminating against entire groups of applicants, all in the name of DEI."
The federal agency blamed the administration of former President Joe Biden for advancing the "ideology behind this illegal practice", accusing it of having done nothing to protect the civil rights of American students.
"The Department of Justice will put an end to a shameful system in which someone's race matters more than their ability," Acting Associate Attorney General Chad Mizelle said in a statement. "Every college and university should know that illegal discrimination in admissions will be investigated and eliminated."
The U.S. DOJ said the probe into the universities is only the beginning of its aim to erase "illegal DEI and protecting equality under the law."
Since Trump returned to power this year, his administration has doubled down to end DEI initiatives in federal agencies. He has threatened to cut federal funding for schools that do not follow the administration's order to remove their diversity and equity programs.
In late February, the U.S. Department of Education launched an online portal where parents and other community members can report educators and schools that use DEI programs.
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"The U.S. Department of Education is committed to ensuring all students have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and indoctrination," a statement from the federal agency's website read.
School district leaders and leaders of colleges and universities in California have vowed not to back down from the Trump administration's crackdown on DEI programs. Both the country's largest teachers' labor unions -- the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, along with the American Sociological Association and the American Civil Liberties Union -- have each filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education over a letter from the federal agency in February that said colleges and universities should stop race-based preferences in their operations, including admissions, hiring procedures, and granting scholarships, among others.
