Feds investigating U-M, WMU over scholarships for 'Dreamers,' minorities

• The US Department of Education says it’s investigating the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University for alleged Title VI violations
• U-M’s Dreamer Scholarship and WMU’s Undocumented/DACA Scholarship are being investigated for possible discrimination based on national origin
• WMU is also being investigated for a scholarship intended for ‘African American, Native American, or Hispanic American’ students

The University of Michigan and Western Michigan University are under federal investigation for scholarships that the US Department of Education says may violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The scholarships in question are intended for undocumented students or those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. DACA students, sometimes referred to as “Dreamers,” were brought into the United States as children by parents who are undocumented. The Trump administration says these scholarships “allegedly provide unlawful exclusionary funding based on national origin.” 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in a Wednesday press release that scholarships available only to DACA and undocumented students “deny our fellow citizens the opportunity to compete for scholarships because they were born in the United States.” 

U-M and WMU are being investigated alongside the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska Omaha and the University of Miami for similar DACA-related scholarships. 

DACA immigration policy allows undocumented individuals who entered the country illegally as children prior to June 15, 2007, and had no lawful status on June 15, 2012, to request a renewable two-year period of protection from deportation.

The investigations announced Wednesday are based on complaints submitted to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights by the Legal Insurrection Foundation’s Equal Protection Project, a conservative advocacy group opposing affirmative action.

Related:

• U-M, Grand Valley targeted for civil rights probes by Trump administration
• DEI rollbacks hit campus support systems for students of color at U-M
• Trump admin to University of Michigan: Stop antisemitism, or face 'enforcement'

These Michigan universities could potentially lose federal funding as the Trump administration continues to target public universities for diversity-based initiatives. The University of Michigan announced cuts to all diversity, equity and inclusion programs in March following federal pressure on universities over DEI programs. 

In a statement to Bridge Michigan, Kay Jarvis, University of Michigan’s director of public affairs, said the university had been notified of the investigation but had no further comment. 

Paula Davis, associate vice president for strategic communications at WMU, said the university "takes compliance seriously. We are reviewing the scholarship program, and we will cooperate with authorities."

The Department of Education announced Title VI investigations earlier this year into U-M and Grand Valley State University. In that case, it said it was looking into U-M’s involvement in The PhD Project, a national organization with the goal of diversifying the pool of business professionals, and into race-based scholarships at GVSU.

“As we mark President Trump’s historic six months back in the White House, we are expanding our enforcement efforts to protect American students and lawful residents from invidious national origin discrimination of the kind alleged here,” Trainor said Wednesday.

The University of Michigan’s Dreamer Scholarship is “intended to support undocumented students or students with DACA status” and is available to students who need immediate expenses paid due to hardship or emergency situations. 

Western Michigan University’s Undocumented/DACA Scholarship is an award of up to $6,000 per year “for undergraduate students who are ineligible to receive federal student aid due to an undocumented or DACA status.”

WMU is also under investigation for its Elissa Gatlin Endowed Scholarship for “African American, Native American, or Hispanic American” students, which the Department of Education says is “allegedly impermissible and exclusionary.”