Trump plans to sue colleges over affirmative action

By Safvan Allahverdi

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Trump administration is planning to sue certain U.S. colleges deemed to discriminate against white applicants through admissions policies aimed at bringing more minority students to university campuses, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

According to a document obtained by the newspaper, the administration is preparing to redirect resources of the Justice Department’s civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities in relation to "intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.”

Supporters and critics of the project said it was targeting admissions programs that can give members of disadvantaged groups such as black and Latino students an edge over other applicants with comparable or higher test scores, the newspaper reported.

The project may be run out of the division’s front office, where the Trump administration’s political appointees work.

It is another sign that the civil rights division is taking on a conservative tilt under Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the report added.