On Wednesday, the Division of Schooling introduced it’s investigating 5 universities over their scholarship applications for receipts of Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrivals, a program that permits folks illegally introduced into the U.S. as kids to stay with out concern of deportation. In response to the Schooling Division, scholarships for Dreamers violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a result of they discriminate on the premise of nationwide origin.
The logic right here is that if scholarships are reserved for people not born within the U.S., it discriminates in opposition to people who find themselves born within the U.S.. It’s a brand new entrance within the Schooling Division’s conflict on increased schooling, one which additionally manages to assault immigrants within the course of.
The schools within the administration’s crosshairs are the College of Louisville, the College of Nebraska Omaha, the College of Miami, the College of Michigan, and Western Michigan College. That’s because of the Authorized Revolt Basis’s Equal Safety Venture, which teed up this spherical of harassment by complaining to the Schooling Division. Authorized Revolt has a really slender view of “equal protection,” one which protects primarily white folks, regardless of pretending the group is a warrior in opposition to discrimination. Warriors for discrimination, perhaps.
Schooling Secretary Linda McMahon, proven in April.
Sadly, the Division of Justice has already efficiently pursued this concept. In a sham lawsuit clearly executed in live performance with Texas, the DOJ sued that state over its regulation permitting undocumented college students to get in-state tuition charges. The thought was that giving any profit to undocumented college students discriminates in opposition to good previous American-born college students. The case’s swift settlement led to Texas declaring its personal regulation unconstitutional and wiping it off the books.
The investigations introduced on Wednesday are predicated on the identical nativist nonsense.
The Division of Schooling has loads of time to harass faculties as a result of it has stopped doing some other work. Earlier this month, the Supreme Courtroom gave President Donald Trump the go-ahead to fireside practically 1,400 staff. The civil rights department has been decimated by firings, and investigations into civil rights complaints have slowed to a pathetic crawl.
In June, Secretary of Schooling Linda McMahon bragged to Congress about how nice they have been doing, with the usual Trumpy language that’s now required of all Cupboard secretaries: “Not only are we reducing the backlog, but we are keeping up with the current amount with a reduced staff because we are doing it efficiently.”
That is flatly false. An investigation by the Related Press discovered that the division has resolved solely 65 complaints up to now, which is considerably behind the tempo of prior years. The database reveals that eight of these 65 have been resolved earlier than Trump took workplace on Jan. 20, as effectively. Plus, complaints have elevated by 9%, and the division is at the moment going through a backlog of 25,000 complaints. The administration has additionally abolished a number of civil rights workplaces.
As an alternative of defending the rights of scholars, the division is devoting itself to attacking faculties. The division has threatened universities with lack of accreditation primarily based on their ostensible considerations over the remedy of Jewish college students. McMahon has launched over 50 “investigations” into universities to eradicate each final shred of range, inclusion, and fairness.
In fact, the Division of Schooling can’t destroy schooling alone. It takes a village.
In Could, the Division of Homeland Safety received in on the motion, trying to dam Harvard College from admitting worldwide college students. That transfer would even have required present worldwide college students to switch or lose their authorized immigration standing. A federal choose shortly dominated in opposition to the administration, however that received’t cease them from persevering with to focus on Harvard and worldwide college students.
Folks stroll on the campus of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this previous December.
On Wednesday, the State Division introduced it might be investigating Harvard’s compliance with the J-1 visa program, which lets worldwide college students do change applications right here. It’s simply one other technique to attempt to block Harvard from enrolling worldwide college students.
The Division of Vitality, oddly, is main the cost to ban transgender ladies from taking part in sports activities. Why? Who is aware of!
Whereas the departments of Homeland Safety, State, Vitality, and Schooling are certainly useful for attacking faculties, nothing beats the fervor of the DOJ. The DOJ retains “investigating” faculties for allegedly discriminating in opposition to white college students. They’re attacking your entire College of California system, alleging race- and sex-based discrimination in a imprecise discover that doesn’t clarify what, precisely, they’re investigating. They’re going after the College of Chicago over worldwide college students. And so forth.
It isn’t but clear what is going to occur to the 5 universities focused on Wednesday. Nevertheless, it’s exceedingly clear that the Trump administration won’t ever cease attacking faculties or immigrants. Right here, it’s so handy for the administration that it will get to do each on the identical time. There’s some authorities effectivity for you.
