Key Trump agency puts top universities in crosshairs over alleged race-based dorm programs
The Trump administration is opening civil rights investigations into the University of Connecticut and the University of Minnesota after receiving complaints alleging the schools are operating dorm programs that may be steering students into campus housing services based on race.
The complaints, filed by the Equal Protection Project and obtained by Fox News Digital, accuse UConn of operating three allegedly discriminatory housing programs — ScHOLA²RS House, BSOUL House and La Comunidad Intelectual — promoting Black male, Black female and Hispanic students.
A separate complaint against the University of Minnesota Twin Cities names four programs — Huntley House, Charlotte’s Home, CASA SOL and Tsev Hmoob — that allegedly are promoting Black male, Black female, Hispanic and Hmong American students.
According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the programs potentially violate the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and constitutional equal-protection guarantees by steering students toward or away from dormitory housing programs – which also include student support services – based on race, color or national origin, even when the universities say the programs are "open to all."
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"Unlawful discrimination cannot be allowed to poison American communities or separate members of our next generation — especially in college and university housing," Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"Every student has the right to learn and live in an educational environment free from illegal and divisive DEI. Unlike the Biden administration, the Trump administration does not play favorites. Every American deserves the law’s protection, and any institution of higher education that engages in unlawful housing discrimination will be held accountable."
Both universities denied engaging in discriminatory housing practices.
A University of Minnesota spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that the school received official notice of the probe from HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Thursday but argued the school's programs are compliant with "federal regulations, guidelines and anti-discrimination laws."
HUD confirmed to Fox News Digital it sent notice of the investigation to the university ahead of publication.
"The University’s Living Learning Communities are open to all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, which is clearly stated on our website," the spokesperson said. "The university is diligent in its compliance with federal regulations, guidelines and anti-discrimination laws.
"We will fully cooperate with any investigation into this matter."
The Equal Protection Project's complaint cited by HUD appeared to anticipate UMN’s defense, arguing that the school’s "open to all" disclaimer does not resolve the alleged problem because the university still "expressly defines and markets" the residential communities around race or ethnicity.
"Such perfunctory non-discrimination language does not cure the racial steering violation," the complaint says.
The complaint points to UMN materials describing Huntley House as a community "designed for Black men," Charlotte’s House as "designed for Black women," CASA SOL as "designed for Latinx students" and Tsev Hmoob as "designed for Hmong American students," all of which provide housing and programmatic benefits, including peer mentoring, academic support, community events and shared residential space for selected students.
The complaint also alleges UMN added its "open to all" language to at least three of the programs sometime after March 17, 2026, based on internet archive history, and argues that the late-added disclaimer does not cure the alleged violation.
Instead, the complaint says, the added language suggests the university was aware its race-based descriptions and opens them to legal liability.
UConn also denied discriminating in campus housing.
"UConn does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, or any other aspect of identity, including in our on-campus housing," a university spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"UConn is home to nearly 20 different interdisciplinary living and learning communities within on-campus housing, all of which are organized around students who may have similar interests, backgrounds or academic pursuits, including the three that were specifically named," the spokesperson continued.
"However, these communities are open to all students, and no student is denied access to these communities based on their identity."
But the Equal Protection Project complaint cited by HUD in conjunction with its new probe argues that UConn’s housing programs, which also offer student support services, may still amount to unlawful racial steering even if students outside the named groups are not formally barred.
UConn’s housing descriptions for ScHOLA²RS House, BSOUL House and La Comunidad Intelectual, the complaint alleged, have been promoted in a manner that could signal to other students that the housing programs are not intended for them.
The complaint points specifically to the schools’ promotional materials and social media posts, arguing the housing programs’ titles, descriptions and imagery are likely to steer non-Black or non-Hispanic students away from applying, regardless of whether UConn intended to discriminate.
"This information steers individuals (‘ordinary readers’) towards and away from dormitory housing based on these preferences in violation of the FHA," the complaint against UConn states, adding that the allegation holds "even if UConn in fact has no discriminatory intent."
The complaint highlights how UConn’s learning communities allow students to live together while participating in shared academic courses, mentoring and co-curricular programming, and says the named programs also promote support including academic and social or emotional support, research opportunities, professional development, seminar courses, events and shared community space.
"When parents entrust their children to universities, they expect these institutions to cultivate independent thinkers who will engage with life’s permanent questions, pursue truth, beauty, and goodness, and carry forward the great intellectual, moral, and cultural inheritance of Western civilization," Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor told Fox News Digital.
"Too often, however, these young Americans arrive on campus only to be steered toward racially segregated housing arrangements that divide students, create unequal experiences, and betray the core principles of a classical liberal education," he continued.
"We will fully investigate the allegations against the University of Connecticut and the University of Minnesota to determine if they are, in fact, violating the Fair Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."