DOJ Launches Initiative to Target Federally Funded Institutions Over DEI, Anti-Semitism

The Justice Department could risk losing access to federal funds if the university is found to be “discriminating against students.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on May 19 that it launched a “civil rights fraud initiative” that investigated and punished federal funding agencies promoting diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and anti-Semitism.

In the memo, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, said the department is committed to enforce federal civil rights laws and ensuring equal protections under the law, and can be achieved through “hard enforcement” of the false claims laws against agencies that violate these laws.

The False Claims Act is a federal law that holds people responsible for fraudulent government. Additionally, private citizens can sue on behalf of the government known as Qui Tam Suits., You can potentially receive a portion of the recovered funds.

The memo said it “encourages anti-Semitism, refuses to protect Jewish students, refuses men to break into women’s toilets, and refuses to require women to compete with men in athletics.”

According to the memo, colleges and universities risk losing access to federal funds if they find themselves “discriminating against students” through anti-Semitism and DEI policies.

The initiative will be co-led by the DOJ’s civil fraud section, which enforces the false claims laws, and the civil rights department, which enforces the civil rights laws. The department works with other federal agencies to identify agencies that violate the law.

Blanche said each department will assign a team of lawyers to “actively pursue” the investigation, with each of the 93 US lawyers offices in the country need to designate US lawyers to support these efforts.

“The US has seen a wave of anti-Semitism tides clean our universities and codify divisive policies like Dei at an unprecedented rate,” he said in a statement. “The days of using federal funds to use further discrimination are over.”

The move follows President Donald Trump’s executive order on January 20th to remove “all discriminatory programs, including DEI-related policies,” from federal agencies and government initiatives.

In his order, Trump said the former administration had enforced “illegal and immoral discrimination programs” through the DEI initiative, virtually across “all aspects of the federal government.”

“The disclosure of these plans demonstrated enormous public waste and shameful discrimination, which will end today,” the president said.

Trump issued another order on Jan. 29, directing federal agencies to identify “all civil and criminal authorities” that could be used to combat anti-Semitism on campus, citing the need to protect students from anti-Semitic discrimination and violence.

The order states that “Jewish students face a ruthless barrage of discrimination, denial of access to common areas and facilities on campus, including libraries and classrooms, and threats, harassment, physical threats and assaults.” A counterattack against Hamas in the strip.

In March, the Department of Education released a list of 60 higher education institutions currently under investigation for allegations of anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment on campus.

The department warned that agencies could face enforcement action if they fail to meet their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits recipients of federal funds, to operate programs that promote discrimination based on race, color and national origin.