Education Department investigates universities over scholarships excluding U.S. citizens

The U.S. Department of Education has launched civil rights investigations into five universities over scholarships that allegedly exclude U.S. citizens in favor of undocumented or DACA students.

In a press release on Wednesday, the department’s said it launched the investigations following complaints from the Equal Protection Project, which alleged that certain scholarships at the University of Louisville, University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Miami, University of Michigan, and Western Michigan University unlawfully discriminate based on national origin.

The probes will evaluate potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits national origin discrimination in programs that receive federal funding.

The complaints identified several scholarships allegedly restricted to undocumented or DACA-eligible students.

These include the University of Louisville’s Sagar Patagundi Scholarship, the University of Nebraska Omaha’s Dreamer’s Pathway Scholarship, the University of Miami’s U Dreamers Program, the University of Michigan’s Dreamer Scholarship, and Western Michigan University’s DACA/Undocumented Scholarship.

In addition to national origin concerns, the department said it will examine other scholarships at the universities that may be exclusionary on the basis of race or color. Examples include the University of Louisville’s Dawn Wilson Scholarship for “LGBTQ+ students of color,” the University of Nebraska Omaha’s HDR Scholarship, which gives preference to “underrepresented minority students,” and Western Michigan University’s Elissa Gatlin Endowed Scholarship for African American, Native American, or Hispanic American students.

The investigations come as the Trump administration marks six months back in office and ramps up enforcement efforts aligned with its stated “America First” education policy.