Trump’s Ed Dept warns of ‘enforcement actions’ over antisemitic protests

The Department of Education sent letters to 60 universities Monday warning of consequences for failing to protect Jewish students on campus.

The letters were sent to universities currently under investigation for antisemitic events and possible Title VI violations, including Yale, Harvard and the University of Michigan, according to the department’s press release.

“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in the announcement. “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”

Several universities have been accused of egregious civil rights violations for allowing pro-Palestinian activists to continuously harass Jewish students since the start of the Israel-Gaza War. Protesters assembled at countless universities across the country in support of Hamas, pitching illegal multi-week encampments, disrupting university functions and harassing Jewish students.

The Trump administration has already pulled hundreds of millions of dollars from Columbia University over its noncompliance with civil rights laws, allowing fiery protests to occur across campus for over a year. Protests at Columbia resulted in hundreds of arrests after demonstrators overtook a campus building and maintained illegal encampments.

In early February the department announced it was opening investigations into five universities, Columbia, Northwestern, Portland State University, the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Minnesota after a House Committee on Education and the Workforce investigation concluded the universities’ leaders “overwhelmingly failed” in their response to antisemitic events on campus. The additional 55 universities announced Monday are all under investigation or monitoring due to complaints filed with the department’s Office for Civil Rights, the department stated.

In an effort to shut down violent protests, the U.S. Department of State reportedly plans to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help identify foreign students who have demonstrated support for Hamas and other terrorist organizations and will use the data to revoke student visas, an idea President Donald Trump suggested during his campaign.

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