University of Miami undocumented student scholarships under federal investigation – NBC 6 South Florida
The University of Miami is one of five universities being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for alleged “exclusionary scholarships” that benefit undocumented students, the department said Monday.
In addition to UM, the department’s Office for Civil rights opened national origin discrimination investigations into the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska Omaha, the University of Michigan, and Western Michigan University.
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This includes UM’s U Dreamers Program, which “is available to academically talented and admissible [DACA] and undocumented high school seniors and transfer students.”
According to UM’s website, the program could potentially cover tuition and mandatory fees, food and housing for students who meet eligibility criteria.
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The investigations are based on complaints submitted to OCR by the Legal Insurrection Foundation’s Equal Protection Project, a conservative non-profit that says its mission is devoted to advancing free expression and academic freedom on campuses.
“The investigations will determine whether these universities are granting scholarships only for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or ‘undocumented’ students, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964’s (Title VI) prohibition against national origin discrimination,” the department of education said in a statement.
The investigations also will examine other scholarships that appear to exclude students based on other aspects of Title VI, including race and color, the department said.
