Harvard Sued for Stonewalling on Race-Based Admissions

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is suing Harvard, accusing the university of unlawfully withholding admissions data necessary to help the government determine if race-based discrimination is occurring.

In Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College in 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that colleges cannot consider race in the admissions process. The Justice Department wants to determine if Harvard has complied with the decision.

“Harvard has failed to disclose the data we need to ensure that its admissions are free of discrimination — we will continue fighting to put merit over DEI across America,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

The lawsuit aims to compel Harvard to produce documents related to any consideration of race in admissions.

The administration accuses Harvard of repeatedly delaying or outright refusing to produce pertinent data and documents requested by the DOJ. These include individualized applicant admissions data, admissions policies, and correspondence related to race; ethnicity; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and the Students for Fair Admissions ruling.

“The Justice Department will not allow universities to flout our nation’s federal civil rights laws by refusing to provide the information required for our review,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“Providing requested data is a basic expectation of any credible compliance process, and refusal to cooperate creates concerns about university practices.”

Harvard, which benefits from federal funding, allegedly violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by failing to comply with the request for sufficient document production for compliance review, the suit says.

“By failing to make timely and complete document productions or otherwise permitting the DOJ to access Harvard’s applicant-level admissions data, Harvard breached a material term of DOJ federal financial assistance,” the DOJ says.

“If Harvard has stopped discriminating, it should happily share the data necessary to prove it,” Dhillon stated.

The lawsuit comes amid continued negotiations between Harvard and the Trump administration. President Donald Trump is now seeking a $1 billion settlement with Harvard University because the school has “dragged its feet” during months of negotiations.

Harvard and the Trump administration have engaged in a legal battle for months after the president pulled $2 billion in federal funding and removed the university’s ability to enroll international students. Trump said he took action over Harvard’s alleged failure to curb antisemitism, and its DEI practices.

“This has been an ongoing negotiation and frankly, a frustrating negotiation for the president and the administration because we want a deal,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to a question from The Daily Signal, “and it’s very unfortunate that Harvard has dragged its feet.”

The post Harvard Sued for Stonewalling on Race-Based Admissions appeared first on The Daily Signal.