May 6 (UPI) -- The University of California, Los Angeles' medical school admissions process discriminates by race to favor Black and Hispanic applicants, the Justice Department announced Wednesday, as the Trump administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion policies in higher education.
The finding follows a year-long investigation launched in late March 2025 and is one of several Trump administration civil rights probes involving UCLA or the broader University of California system. Most have focused on alleged race-based admissions practices, diversity hiring policies and anti-Semitism tied to campus protests.
President Donald Trump has sought to rid public and private institutions of DEI and other race- or sex-conscious policies his administration characterizes as discriminatory since his first day in office in January 2025. One executive order directed the attorney general and education secretary to issue guidance to federally funded educational institutions on complying with the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling that struck down race-conscious admissions practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
In a letter to the school, the Justice Department said it "finds that DGSOM continues to intentionally discriminate against applicants based on their race after the Supreme Court's decision in Harvard by granting and denying admission on the basis of race."
