After months of targeting universities over antisemitism allegations, the Trump administration is turning to a new focus: whether schools are using proxies for race in admissions to diversify student bodies.
This emphasis is emerging in recent edicts from federal agencies and in the White House’s scrutiny of specific universities.
In late July, Attorney General Pam Bondi warned in a memo against using “unlawful proxies” for race—such as geography or applicant essays on overcoming hardships—in admissions. Soon after, the U.S. Education Department announced it would require universities to report new data on applicants, broken down by race, to “ensure race-based preferences are not used.”
Universities have been prohibited from using racial preferences in admissions since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in 2023. The Trump administration suggests schools may be flouting the ban, though universities say they comply.
For conservatives and the administration, the current push represents a common-sense strategy to enforce and extend the Supreme Court’s ruling. Others say this approach distorts the court decision and could depress Black student enrollment, which has already fallen at some top colleges.