DOJ Won’t Defend Federal Grant Program for Colleges With High Hispanic Enrollment

The Trump administration announced on Friday that it will not defend a decades-old federal grant program for colleges with high Hispanic enrollment, declaring that the funding is unconstitutional.

The Justice Department informed Congress that it agrees with a lawsuit seeking to strike down grants reserved for colleges and universities where at least 25% of undergraduates are Hispanic.

The program, created in 1998, was intended to address lower college enrollment and graduation rates among Latino students compared with their white peers.

Trump’s DOJ now argues that the grants provide an unconstitutional advantage based on race or ethnicity, citing a 2023 Supreme Court decision that ruled “outright racial balancing” is “patently unconstitutional.”

The challenge originates from the state of Tennessee and the conservative legal group Students for Fair Admissions, according to the New York Post.

The lawsuit claims that all public universities in Tennessee serve Hispanic students but fail to meet the program’s “arbitrary ethnic threshold,” excluding them from tens of millions of dollars in federal funding.

In a July 25 letter released Friday, Solicitor General John Sauer told House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) that the department “has decided not to defend” the program.

The move is in line with the administration’s broader push against affirmative action policies.

More than 500 colleges and universities currently qualify as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and are eligible for the grants.

Congress appropriated approximately $350 million for the program in 2024.

Schools compete for the funds, which can be used for building improvements, science programs, and other educational initiatives.

Hispanic universities expressed concern over the DOJ’s refusal to defend the program.

The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, representing the institutions, filed a motion to intervene as a defendant in the Tennessee lawsuit, citing fears that the federal government would not adequately represent their interests.

The group criticized the administration’s agenda, calling it “entirely adverse” to HSI priorities.

While President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget request proposed major cuts to the Education Department, it preserved funding for HSIs and even requested a slight increase. Nevertheless, critics remain skeptical about the administration’s long-term commitment to Hispanic higher education.

Unlike historically Black colleges and universities or Native American tribal colleges, HSI designation is based solely on student enrollment percentages rather than mission.

Schools with at least 25% Latino students can qualify, regardless of their broader student body composition.

Examples include flagship institutions such as the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Arizona, as well as numerous community colleges and smaller universities.

The DOJ’s decision follows a precedent in which the federal government may decline to defend laws it considers unconstitutional. The Obama administration did so in 2011 with the Defense of Marriage Act, and Trump’s first administration similarly refused to defend parts of the Affordable Care Act.

Senate Democrats and education advocates have criticized the move as politically motivated and harmful to Latino students.

Studies indicate that HSI schools enroll 67% of Latino undergraduates but receive less state and federal funding than other colleges.

The association argues that the grants help level the playing field and provide vital resources for student success.

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