President Trump’s Justice Department announced Thursday it will investigate four California universities to determine if they are violating a ban on the use of race in college admissions.
The Mercury News reports the four colleges named are UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Irvine and Stanford.
“President Trump and I are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country,” U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Every student in America deserves to be judged solely based on their hard work, intellect, and character, not the color of their skin.”
California voters in 1996 passed proposition 209 that prohibits state government institutions from the consideration of race, gender and ethnicity in hiring, contracting and school admissions.
Trump declared war on diversity, equity and inclusion when he took office, equating it to affirmative action which the U.S. Supreme Court banned in its 2023 decision against Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
“UC has implemented admissions practices to comply with the law,” a UC spokesperson said to the Los Angeles Times. “At the same time, we remain committed to expanding access for all qualified students. The UC undergraduate admissions application collects students’ race and ethnicity for statistical purposes only. This information is not shared with application reviewers and is not used for admissions.”
Stanford also said its in compliance.
“We continue to be committed to fulfilling our obligations under the law,” the university said.
The review by the Trump administration follows a lawsuit in February against the University of California alleging discrimination in admissions against Asian and White students.
Asian Americans make up 40% of enrollees in UC Berkeley, 33% of those enrolled at UCLA and at least 40% at UC Irvine. The state is 15% Asian American while Asians make up
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