The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) says it has opened discrimination investigations into five universities across the country, including Western Michigan University and the University of Michigan, over scholarships for undocumented and other minority group students.
In a July 23 news release, officials said investigation is based on complaints submitted to the OCR by the Legal Insurrection Foundation’s Equal Protection Project, which self describes itself as an organization calling for “fair treatment of all persons without regard to race or ethnicity.”
The group’s accusations say the universities are granting scholarships only for DACA or “undocumented” students, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s prohibition against national origin discrimination. It also has challenged programs for LGBTQ+, Latino and “underrepresented minority students.”
“Protecting equal access to education includes protecting the rights of American-born students. At the Equal Protection Project, we are gratified that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is acting on our complaints regarding scholarships that excluded American-born students,” said William A. Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project said in the release. “Discrimination against American-born students must not be tolerated.”
The University of Michigan said it was aware of the investigation. The Free Press also reached out July 24 to Western Michigan University, which has not yet commented.
“The university has received a letter of notification relating to this matter. We have no further comment,” University of Michigan Director of Public Affair said in an email.
The University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Miami and the University of Louisville also are under investigation, according to the release.
“On January 20, 2025, President Trump promised that ‘every single day of the Trump Administration, [he] will, very simply, put America first.’ Neither the Trump Administration’s America first policies nor the Civil Right Act of 1964’s prohibition on national origin discrimination permit universities to deny our fellow citizens the opportunity to compete for scholarships because they were born in the United States,” acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in the release.
In February, the U.S. Department of Education issued a letter threatening to revoke federal funding from universities that continue using race as a factor in various practices, including hiring, admissions and scholarships.
In March, U-M announced it would close its DEI office.
According to the news release, investigators will probe the following U-M and WMU scholarship programs:
According to the complaints, the following scholarships allegedly provide unlawful exclusionary funding based on national origin:
OCR will also investigate other allegedly impermissible and exclusionary scholarships, including:
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals temporarily delays the deportation of people without documentation who were brought to the U.S. as children buy their undocumented parents, according to USA.gov.
Some colleges and universities in the U.S. have undocumented students who have DACA status.
As of December 2024, there are more than 530,000 individuals with DACA status, according to the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.
Visas are determined based on course selection and type of school. They are split into three categories:
Michigan has more than 38,000 international students, the eighth-largest international student population in the country
They spend an estimated $1.45 billion on tuition, rent, groceries, clothes, movies, restaurant meals, school supplies and other goods and services they purchase, Global Detroit research shows.
Jalen Williams cover breaking news and trends at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
