US education department warns schools of ‘enforcement actions’ over antisemitism allegations

The US education department’s civil rights office issued warnings on Monday to 60 colleges and universities indicating that they may face “enforcement actions” for allegations of antisemitic harassment as well as discrimination on their campuses.

The warnings came just days after Donald Trump’s second presidential administration canceled $400m in funding to Columbia University and arrested a prominent Palestinian activist, Mahmoud Khalil, who was a recent Columbia graduate and helped lead pro-Palestinian protests at the university last year.

In Monday’s letters to the 60 higher education institutions, the federal education department’s office of civil rights (OCR) said that the schools are all being investigated in response to complaints of alleged “violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination”.

A department statement said that it sent the admonitions under the agency’s authority to enforce Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act, which “prohibits any institution that receives federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color, and national origin”.

“National origin includes shared (Jewish) ancestry,” the statement said.

The letters stem from an executive order signed by Trump shortly after retaking office in January that purported to “combat antisemitism”. A fact sheet corresponding to Trump’s order suggested deporting international students involved in pro-Palestinian protests.

In a statement on Monday, the education secretary, Linda McMahon, said that her department was “deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite US campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year”.

“University leaders must do better,” the former executive for the WWE professional wrestling promotion said. “US colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by US taxpayers.

“That support is a privilege, and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws.”

Trump had recently threatened to halt all federal funding for any college or school that allows “illegal protests” and vowed to imprison “agitators”. Just days later, the administration announced the cancellation of $400m in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University, accusing the institution of repeatedly failing to protect students from antisemitic harassment.

Columbia has been a focal point for campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza – demonstrations that erupted last spring both across the US and internationally, with students calling for an end to the US’s support to the Israeli military as well as demanding that their universities divest from companies with ties to Israel.

At Columbia, such protests led to mass arrests, suspensions and the resignation of the university’s president at the time.

On Saturday, in an unprecedented move that alarmed many advocates of constitutional free speech protections, federal immigration authorities arrested Khalil.

Trump described the arrest as the “first arrest of many to come”.

Khalil, a permanent US resident, was arrested by federal immigration authorities who reportedly said they were acting on a state department order to revoke the green card granting him permanent residency.

As of Tuesday, Khalil had not been charged with any crime. However, two people with knowledge of the matter told the New York Times that the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, relied on a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 in the arrest of Khalil which gives him broad power to expel foreigners.

Initially, it was reported that Khalil had been taken to an immigration detention facility in New Jersey. However, as of Monday morning, he was being held at an immigration detention facility near Jena, Louisiana.

On Monday evening, a federal judge in Manhattan ordered the government not to deport Khalil while the judge reviews legal filings challenging his detention. The judge set a hearing for Wednesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights have joined Khalil’s legal team, led by his attorney, Amy Greer. Greer stated on Monday that she had spoken with Khalil and that he is “healthy and his spirits are undaunted by his predicament”.