Two California universities investigated by feds for DEI admissions policies

Federal prosecutors have opened compliance review investigations into admissions policies at UCLA and UC Irvine to determine if the universities were using diversity, equity and inclusion criteria in selecting students, officials announced Thursday.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi directed the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division to launch the probe following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that colleges and universities are prohibited from using DEI
as a basis for admission.

There was no immediate comment from either university.

"President Trump and I are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country,'' 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.''

Meanwhile, the University of Southern California Thursday announced that it’s no longer using the term “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” citing “disagreements” surrounding the phrase and its interpretations.

Instead, the university said it’s “broadening” the initiative by naming it “community” to comply with the Department of Education’s federal guidance on DEI.

According to the DOJ, elite colleges and universities have long prioritized racial quotas over equality of opportunity, dividing Americans and discriminating against entire groups of applicants in the name of diversity.

The DOJ blamed the prior administration for advancing the DEI ideology, "and did nothing to protect the civil rights of American students,'' according to a news release.

"The Department of Justice will put an end to a shameful system in which someone's race matters more than their ability,'' said Acting Associate Attorney General Chad Mizelle. "Every college and university should know that illegal discrimination in admissions will be investigated and eliminated.''

The compliance investigations into the universities "are just the beginning of the department's work in eradicating illegal DEI and protecting equality under the law,'' according to federal prosecutors.