Justice Department sues Harvard over admissions data disclosure

According to the Justice Department, the lawsuit follows the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling, which limited the consideration of race in college admissions. In a statement, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said the department is seeking greater transparency from educational institutions.

Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice is demanding better from our nation’s educational institutions, Bondi said. “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.”

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said universities are required to provide requested information for compliance reviews.

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, Dhillon said. “Providing requested data is a basic expectation of any credible compliance process, and refusal to cooperate creates concerns about university practices. If Harvard has stopped discriminating, it should happily share the data necessary to prove it.”

The lawsuit alleges that Harvard delayed and refused to provide requested documents, including individualized applicant admissions data, admissions policies, and correspondence related to race, ethnicity, diversity, equity and inclusion, and Students for Fair Admissions.

The department argues that Harvard, as a recipient of federal financial assistance, violated Title VI by failing to comply with the DOJ’s request for sufficient document production for a compliance review. The complaint also states that Harvard breached a material term of federal funding agreements by not providing timely and complete access to applicant-level admissions data. The department added that the lawsuit seeks to compel Harvard to produce documents related to any consideration of race in admissions.

The legal dispute follows a series of tensions between Harvard and the Trump administration over the past year. In June, the university sued the administration over a ban on international students entering the United States, with a federal judge later blocking the policy. In September, another court overturned a decision by the administration to cut billions of dollars in federal research funding to the university.

Earlier, Qazinform reported in October, President Donald Trump said his administration was close to reaching a deal with Harvard, potentially making it one of the largest settlements between the White House and a US university.