DOJ sues Harvard for allegedly withholding race-related admissions documents

The Department of Justice on Friday sued Harvard University for allegedly withholding race-related admissions documents necessary to determine whether the institution is discriminating in its admissions process despite a 2023 Supreme Court ruling.

According to the lawsuit, Harvard allegedly slow-walked its production of the requested information multiple times and refused to give the DOJ documents it sought on individualized applicant admissions data, admissions policies, and correspondence regarding race and DEI.

In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College that the school violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by considering race in its undergraduate admissions process.

The DOJ, which gives funding to the university, alleges that Harvard violated Title VI by failing to comply with the department's request for sufficient document production for compliance review.

The lawsuit claims that Harvard breached a material term of DOJ federal financial assistance by failing to make timely and complete document productions or otherwise permitting the department to access the university’s applicant-level admissions data. 

Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement on Friday, “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,” Fox News reported.

“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,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.

“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 DOJ noted that the lawsuit is only seeking to compel Harvard to produce documents related to any consideration of race in admissions, but is not accusing Harvard of racial discrimination.

Harvard didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.