The U.S. Department of Education issued a press release last week accusing five American universities of providing exclusive scholarships to undocumented immigrant students. It alleges that these universities only offer scholarships to “Dreamers” (DACA beneficiaries) or undocumented students who were brought to the U.S. as children, thereby violating the anti-nationality discrimination provisions of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The Civil Rights Act requires all institutions receiving federal funding from the U.S. government, such as schools, universities, hospitals, local governments, non-profit organizations, etc., to not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, and language background.
The five universities under investigation for nationality discrimination by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) are: University of Louisville, University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Miami, University of Michigan, and Western Michigan University.
According to the Education Department, these investigations were initiated based on complaints filed by the Legal Insurrection Foundation’s Equal Protection Program to the OCR which aims to ensure equal protection under the law and prevent any form of discrimination by the government.
Founder of the Equal Protection Program, William A. Jacobson, stated that “protecting equal educational opportunities includes protecting the rights of American-born students.”
The complaints highlighted various scholarships that are allegedly illegally discriminatory based on nationality:
– The Sagal Patel Gandhi Scholarship at the University of Louisville is used to subsidize higher education expenses for undergraduate DACA and undocumented students.
– The Dreamers Path Scholarship at the University of Nebraska Omaha is aimed at DACA-eligible Nebraska residents pursuing undergraduate degrees.
– The U Dreamers Project at the University of Miami targets academically outstanding high school graduates who meet DACA admission criteria and undocumented high school transfer students.
– The Dreamers Scholarships at the University of Michigan aim to support undocumented students or those with DACA status.
– The Undocumented/DACA Scholarships at Western Michigan University are for undergraduate students ineligible for federal student aid due to their undocumented or DACA status.
The OCR will also investigate other scholarships alleged in the complaints to be impermissible and exclusive, including the Dawn Wilson Scholarship at the University of Louisville for “students of color and LGBT+ undergraduates” and scholarships for Latinx and Hispanic students at the University of Louisville. Additionally, University of Nebraska Omaha’s HDR Scholarship prioritizes “underrepresented minority students.”
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, Craig Trainor, emphasized that neither the “America First” policy of the Trump administration nor the anti-nationality discrimination provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act allow universities to deprive students of scholarship opportunities based on their American citizenship.
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