Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Sues Harvard University for Withholding Race-Related Admissions Documents
Note: View complaint here. The release has been updated to reflect that the action took place today, February 13.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division (DOJ) filed a lawsuit today against Harvard University (Harvard), accusing Harvard of unlawfully withholding from the United States admissions data information necessary to determine whether Harvard is continuing to discriminate in its admissions process, even after the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice is demanding better from our nation’s educational institutions,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “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.”
“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,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “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 repeatedly slow-walked the pace of production and refused to produce pertinent data and documents requested by the DOJ, including individualized applicant admissions data, admissions policies, and correspondence related to race; ethnicity; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and Students for Fair Admissions. The suit alleges that Harvard — a recipient of DOJ funding — violated Title VI by failing to comply with the DOJ’s request for sufficient document production for compliance review. The suit also notes that by failing to make timely and complete document productions or otherwise permitting the DOJ to access Harvard’s applicant-level admissions data, Harvard breached a material term of DOJ federal financial assistance.
The lawsuit seeks only to compel Harvard to produce documents related to any consideration of race in admissions and does not accuse Harvard of racial discrimination.
