From the halls of Ivy Leagues to state schools, over 50 universities are squirming under the Department of Education’s (DOE) glare for allegedly engaging in and promoting “race-exclusionary practices,” policies, and scholarships.

As part of the Trump administration’s latest move to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) throughout America, his DOE is putting words into action. In February, the department sent out a “Dear Colleague” letter, warning schools to eliminate their DEI programs or face losing federal funding.

It read, “American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students. These institutions’ embrace of pervasive and repugnant race-based preferences and other forms of racial discrimination have emanated throughout every facet of academia.” In addition to this, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor wrote in a statement that the administration’s aim of “directing schools to end the use of racial preferences and race stereotypes in their programs and activities [is] a victory for justice, civil rights laws, and the Constitution.”

As it turns out, many of these schools chose to put their federal funding at risk — only to discover the DOE wasn’t bluffing. Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced Friday that “the Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination.” She added, “Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin. We will not yield on this commitment.”

As The Washington Times reported, investigators are zeroing in on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on race, color, or national origin at any institution cashing federal checks. Caught in the crosshairs of these investigations are big-name institutions such as Yale, Harvard, Columbia, George Mason, Georgetown, and New York University — a list that barely scratches the surface. Many of these probes are specifically geared toward schools that are connected to the PhD Project, which, according to the Associated Press, is “a nonprofit that helps students from underrepresented groups get degrees in business with the goal of diversifying the business world.”

To address the investigation, the PhD Project released a statement claiming their programs were designed to “create a broader talent pipeline of current and future business leaders who are committed to excellence and to each other.” They also suggested that “this year, we have opened our membership application to anyone who shares that vision.”

The DOE already faced two federal lawsuits from America’s two largest teachers unions around the time the “Dear Colleague” letter was sent out. Despite the challenges, Trainor and others at the DOE continue to insist that these DEI agendas have been “smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming and discipline.” Family Research Council’s Meg Kilgannon also commented on the indoctrination, telling The Washington Stand that “these kinds of enforcements by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights are necessary to reorient higher education away from race-based preference programs that are clearly illegal and discriminatory.”

Additionally, she emphasized that “colleges and universities have become accustomed to doing business through racial preferences. That will only change if consequences for illegal activities are enforced.” Kilgannon concluded, “I’m very grateful for the Education Department to do this now until the department closes, and these functions move to the Department of Justice.”